Sibal questions Abdullah's detention under PSA, suspects Vaiko's SC petition

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal lashed out at the BJP over the detention of Farooq Abdullah under the Public Safety Act on Monday (September 16)

He questioned whether the step was prompted by MDMK chief Vaiko’s plea in the Supreme Court seeking a directive that the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister be produced before it.

A patron of the National Conference, Abdullah has now been detained under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), which allows the authorities to detain any individual for two years without trial.

Abdullah has been under house arrest since August 5 when the Centre announced abrogation of Article 370 which gives a special status to Jammu and Kashmir and proposed bifurcation of the state into two Union territories: J&K and Ladakh.

Also read: J&K ex-CM Farooq Abdullah detained under stringent PSA

“Now PSA (43 days later). Earlier BJP said 92% of people in J&K welcome dilution of Article 370; that normalcy prevails. Then Amit Shah in Parliament: Farooq Abdullah neither detained nor arrested,” Sibal said in a tweet.

“If no danger to public safety then, why now? Because Vaiko filed a petition?” he said.

The Supreme Court on Monday (September 16) asked the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration to respond to Vaiko’s plea seeking that the former J&K chief minister be produced before the court.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices SA Bobde and SA Nazeer issued a notice to the Centre and the state, and fixed Rajya Sabha MP Vaikos plea for hearing on September 30.