Two former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir – Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah have been arrested by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Public Safety act (PSA).
Both the CM’s were already under detention for past six months after the central government scrapped article 370 in the valley.
What is the Public Safety Act (PSA) about?
The Public Safety Act (PSA) is a Jammu and Kashmir law that came into force in 1978, which allows authorities to detain a person for a period of up to 2 years without a trial.
National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah was detained by the Jammu and Kashmir administration under the provisions of this law.
Reasons behind their arrest-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the Parliament on Thursday in his speech had indicated their arrest saying that Mehbooba Mufti had said on August 5th that India had betrayed Kashmir.
He said Omar Abdullah had remarked that ending Kashmir’s autonomy would cause an earthquake that would separate Kashmir from India…Can anyone agree with such a language?, the PM asked.
PM Modi said that such statements that could spark unrest in the region will not be allowed by the Indian government anywhere in the country, be it Kashmir or North-East.
Earlier on Thursday, National Conference General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar and senior Peoples Democratic Party leaders Sartaj Madani, and an uncle of Mehbooba Mufti, were booked under the PSA that allows the detaining of a person for up to 2 years without trial.
Sagar was alleged to be very vocal against the scrapping of articles 35A and 370 in Jammu and Kashmir last year.
He was involved in instigating the youth, especially party workers, against the Indian government‘s decisions.
His capability to disturb the public peace and tranquility can be seen from the fact that he succeeded in mobilizing voters at the peak of militancy and Poll boycotts.
The PSA dossier on Sartaj Madni alleged that he played a very strong role during Asiya and Nelofer’s alleged rape and murder case in 2009.
He played a vital role in mobilizing antisocial elements. He was also involved in provoking people to come on the streets and actively support separatists and propagate secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the union of India especially after Afzal Guru‘s hanging.
