Sanjay Singh calls MLA's arrest 'dictatorial'; AAP to challenge in Supreme Court

The arrest of the lone Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA, Mehraj Din Malik, under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) has snowballed into a major political issue in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. AAP's senior leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh has announced plans to approach the Supreme Court against what he described as the "dictatorial act" of the administration.

Sanjay Singh, along with Delhi's former minister Imran Hussain, arrived in Jammu on Wednesday morning to meet party workers and plan the future course of action.

Senior AAP leader of J&K, Surinder Singh Shinghari, told International Business Times that the party has decided to take the issue to the streets to oppose the Union Territory administration.

"Although the administration is trying to paint this episode in a different light, the reality is that our MLA, Mehraj Malik, has been detained under the PSA merely for demanding better health facilities in Doda district," he said. "Being an MLA, it is his duty to raise people's issues, but the authorities are trying to gag his voice by slapping the PSA on him."

Shinghari added that a meeting of senior party leaders from J&K will be held with Sanjay Singh later in the day to strategize how to mobilize public support on this issue.

J&K Government Treating AAP MLA as a Terrorist: Sanjay Singh

Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh alleged that the Jammu and Kashmir government is treating the party's MLA like a terrorist. Singh, who arrived in Jammu on Wednesday at the direction of party convener Arvind Kejriwal, accused the BJP of attempting to stifle dissenting voices. He particularly alleged that the BJP-led government is determined to crush the AAP.

Strongly condemning the arrest of Mehraj Malik, Singh called the action illegal and unconstitutional.

"In the political history of Jammu and Kashmir, no MLA has ever been slapped with the PSA," he said. "The BJP and the Prime Minister do only one thing — wherever the Aam Aadmi Party makes progress and expands its presence, they try to suppress and crush it. Their most common tactic is to file false cases against us and put our leaders behind bars."

Singh further announced that the party and its leadership will fight this "unlawful act" from the streets to Parliament and the courts.

"This is completely unconstitutional and illegal. Our convener, Arvind Kejriwal, has announced that we will continue this fight until we receive justice. We are not the kind of people who will remain silent," he asserted while addressing party workers outside the Jammu Press Club.

He also expressed surprise that Mehraj Malik, an elected representative simply demanding a hospital for the people, was booked under the stringent PSA despite his public service role.

PSA Against MLA a "Murder of Democracy": Deputy CM

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir's Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Wednesday strongly condemned the arrest of Doda MLA under the PSA, calling it a murder of Indian democracy and the Constitution.

Choudhary urged the Lieutenant Governor to revoke the order to restore calm in the region, stating that the move has shaken public faith in democratic institutions.

"Only those who elect their representative can remove him," he remarked. "How can a Deputy Commissioner, who himself is being accused in a complaint, book an elected MLA under the PSA? Where in the Constitution is this allowed?" he questioned.