Ahead of the opening of the nine-day autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Srinagar on Thursday, a group of legislators from the ruling National Conference (NC), its alliance partner Congress, and several other parties staged a silent protest in the Assembly complex demanding the release of incarcerated AAP MLA Mehraj Malik.
The opening day of the session also witnessed heated exchanges during the obituary references, as the NC and the Opposition BJP sparred over late former Governor Satya Pal Malik’s role in the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
The silent protest was staged outside the assembly hall early in the morning, with protesting lawmakers and supporters holding placards bearing slogans such as “Free Mehraj Malik” and “Restore Doda’s Representation”. The protesters observed silence.
Malik, who is also the UT’s AAP president, was booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) and jailed in Kathua on 8 September after an altercation with Doda deputy commissioner Harvinder Singh when a video was shared widely in which Malik allegedly used unparliamentary language over pending dues of a local resident.
As Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather began the proceedings by reading out the obituary references, NC MLA Hilal Akbar Lone raised the issue of Malik’s arrest. The Speaker assured the legislator that Malik’s arrest would be discussed in the House.
NC Chief Spokesperson and MLA Tanvir Sadiq condemned Malik’s continued detention, calling it unjust and denying the people of Doda their rightful representation in the Assembly. “Malik’s detention under the PSA is undemocratic and contrary to the public mandate,” Sadiq said.
During the obituary references, the name of Satya Pal Malik, the 10th and last governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir who passed away in August this year, prompted a row after NC MLA Bashir Veeri termed his role controversial, with BJP member Sham Lal Sharma demanding the remarks be expunged.
Speaker Rather, while asking Veeri to respect the deceased, did not accept Sharma’s demand to expunge the NC MLA’s remarks.
However, at the conclusion of the obituary references, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Malik must have acted with the belief that he was doing good.
Congress legislature party leader GA Mir, however, called Malik a good leader, who was “outspoken” and “popular”.
CPI(M) MLA MY Tarigami said obituary does not mean “we do not learn a lesson”. “Respect apart, a person who was entrusted with a public responsibility should also be assessed for his actions. Otherwise, it becomes a routine exercise. Even criticism can be done by staying within the levels of decency,” he added.
NC MLA Nazir Gurezi claimed that Malik did some “unconstitutional actions” which will be written in history.
The House observed a two-minute silence as a mark of respect for the departed leaders, including ex-minister Gulchain Singh Charak, former MLA Dina Nath Bhagat, ex-MLCs Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, Ramesh Arora and Sardar Mohammad Akhlaq Khan.