Srinagar, Sep 09 (KNO): Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Langate Sheikh Khursheed on Tuesday sent letters to the Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, voicing strong protest against the detention of MLA Doda, Mehraj Malik, under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
The AIP legislator termed the move “a direct assault on democracy and the sanctity of the House.”
In his letter to the Speaker, a copy of which lies with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Khursheed described the action as an unprecedented attack on the dignity, independence and sanctity of the Assembly.
He said by jailing an elected member under a law meant for extraordinary threats, the government had effectively placed the entire Assembly under arrest and rendered the people’s mandate meaningless.
“Such an action amounts to contempt of the House itself, as it cripples the right of an MLA to represent his constituency and denies the people their chosen voice in this institution,” Khursheed wrote, urging the Speaker to take cognizance and demand an explanation from the authorities, besides ensuring Malik’s release.
He cautioned that failure to act would set a dangerous precedent where the executive could silence elected representatives at will, eroding the Assembly’s very relevance.
In a separate letter to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Khursheed said the detention had pushed democracy to the edge of collapse. He appealed to the CM to convene an all-party meeting to safeguard the dignity of the Assembly and prevent elected voices from being silenced through undemocratic means.
“The people of Jammu & Kashmir are watching, and silence at this moment will be judged as complicity, whereas action will be remembered as statesmanship”, he noted—(KNO)