AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi used poetic language to criticize Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s recent proposal to revoke the Public Safety Act (PSA) through an ordinance after the restoration of statehood. Owaisi emphasized that the PSA, initiated in 1978 by Sheikh Abdullah to combat smuggling, has been a tool of oppression misused by various administrations.
Pointing out that the PSA could have been repealed by previous Chief Ministers like Farooq Abdullah, G M Shah, Mufti Sayeed, G N Azad, Omar Abdullah, and Mehbooba Mufti, Owaisi stated that they could have prevented numerous human rights violations and suffering. He accused every elected Chief Minister and unelected Governor of abusing the law, highlighting that more than 20,000 individuals have been detained under the PSA since its inception without proper legal procedures or fair trials.
Owaisi shared an incident where a leader was detained under the PSA and released on bail through a court order when necessary. He remarked on the current truncated government’s realization to abolish the PSA and concluded his statement with an Urdu couplet directed at Omar Abdullah. Earlier, Omar Abdullah had affirmed his intent to abolish the PSA upon the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, emphasizing the need for elected governance in handling security and law enforcement matters.
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