AAP MLA Mehraj Malik arrested under Public Safety Act in J&K's Doda

SRINAGAR: The sitting AAP MLA from Doda Mehraj Malik was on Monday arrested and booked under stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) by the administration. The MLA was detained outside Dak Bungalow, Doda while he was talking to media persons. He was forcibly taken inside the Dak Bungalow by police personnel. Sources said police arrested him inside the Dak Bungalow. He was later booked under PSA. The AAP MLA has reportedly been shifted to Bhaderwah jail. Many FIRs have been registered against him. It is for the first time in J&K that a sitting MLA has been booked under the PSA. Malik had defeated BJPs Gajay Singh Rana by 4,538 votes to win the Doda Assembly seat in last years Assembly polls. The AAP MLA had extended support to Omar Abdullah in government formation but in June this year withdrew support to the Omar government and decided to sit in opposition. Peoples Conference President and MLA Handwara Sajad Lone denounced the slapping of PSA on AAP MLA Mehraj Malik. We strongly condemn the use of the PSA against MLA Mehraj Malik. This is a soulless democracy, Lone said, stressing that such actions reduce the democratic process to a mere facade. He noted that the peoples mandate continues to remain powerless despite the conduct of elections. The will of the people of J&K continues to be subservient. What is the purpose of holding elections if an elected representative is denied the right to express his sentiments?, he stated. Lone warned that such measures only deepen the crisis of credibility facing the democratic institutions in the region. PDP leader and MLA Waheed Parra also condemned the use of PSA against MLA Mehraj Malik. Such draconian laws are weaponised to silence political voices & crush dissent. Such authoritarian measures are no way to resolve differences in a democracy, he said.