Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], September 13 : Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday questioned Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's offer to provide legal assistance to Malik's family, stating that the MLA is capable of handling his own legal proceedings.
Speaking to reporters, she said, "PSA was imposed on Mehraj Malik and he was put in jail. After that, our Chief Minister meets his father and says that he will help in their legal proceedings. I think Mehraj is an MLA and he is capable enough to handle his own legal help. If the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, wants to provide legal assistance, then he should help those thousands of prisoners in Jammu and Kashmir who are not capable."
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticised the use of the Public Safety Act (PSA) against AAP MLA Mehraj Malik, calling it a misuse of the law.
He said that while there may have been complaints against Malik, using such a harsh law against an elected representative was excessive.
Speaking to the reporters, CM Omar Abdullah said, "Law and order and policing are not part of the elected government's responsibility. Whatever complaints might have been there about the conduct of the MLA, the law that has been used to detain him is absolutely a misuse of the law and an excessive use of force against an elected representative."
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Mehraj Malik, representing Doda constituency of Jammu and Kashmir, was booked under provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act 1978 (PSA) on September 8 on grounds of his activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
The Public Safety Act, a preventive detention law, allows authorities in Jammu & Kashmir to detain individuals without trial for up to two years in certain cases.
Prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Surakaksha Sanhita (BNSS) continues to be imposed in Bhalessa in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on Friday, following AAP MLA Mehraj Malik's arrest.
A day earlier, National Conference (NC) MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi reacted to the detention of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik under sections of the PSA, and said that "this law is used against terrorists or for political intimidation."
"PSA has not been imposed on one person or an MLA; PSA has been imposed on democracy. The law of the land has been reduced to a joke under the BJP regime. You can understand the condition of democracy if an elected MLA can be detained on vague accusations under the PSA. Even if he was at fault, cases could have been registered under other laws. This law is used against terrorists or for political intimidation," Mehdi said.