Srinagar- The Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference on Tuesday hit out at the National Conference for promising to repeal the Public Safety Act, saying the assembly of a Union Territory does not have the power to amend or create laws pertaining to public order.
“Need a clarification in good faith. Given that JK as on date is a UT. Does UT Assembly have the powers to amend or create laws pertaining to public order. Or say the PSA. So why lie?” People’s Conference president Sajad Lone said in a series of tweets.
Lone was reacting to NC leader Omar Abdullah’s statement that his party, if voted to power, will repeal the PSA on the first day in office.
“What an irony. Those who scripted this draconian law, want us to believe they will repeal it. Even more ironical that UT assembly just doesn’t have the powers for any such repeal. Lying through their teeth has been one consistent trait of those who scripted such laws,” Lone said.
The PSA was enacted by the government headed by NC founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in 1978 to curb timber smuggling in Jammu and Kashmir. The law, which provides for detention of up to two years without trial, was later used against terrorists and separatists after the eruption of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir in 1990.
Lone also sought an apology from the NC for enacting the law in the first place.
“Can we at least have an apology from the creators of PSA which till date has resulted in jailing of thousands of Kashmiris. In percentage terms, proportion of people jailed from Jammu under this law is negligible. This law was meant just for Kashmiris,” he said.
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