NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal took a jibe at the Centre after former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was not allowed to meet MP Sanjay Singh, who went to Srinagar to protest AAP MLA Mehraj Malik’s arrest.Sharing an X post, Kejriwal called the Jammu and Kashmir police’s action “hooliganism and dictatorship”.”The former Chief Minister, who is the father of the current Chief Minister, is not being allowed to meet Sanjay Singh in his own state? This is outright hooliganism and dictatorship,” AAP convenor wrote.Sanjay Singh shared the visuals and wrote, “It is a very sad thing that Farooq Abdullah Ji, who has been the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir many times, came to meet me at the government guest house upon hearing the news of my house arrest by the police, but he was not allowed to meet me. If this is not a dictatorship, then what is it?”Abdullah too condemned the attempt to stop AAP MP Sanjay Singh from holding a protest and presser against the detention of lone party MLA Mehraj Malik under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).Speaking to ANI, Abdullah argued that not allowing Sanjay Singh to hold a protest was “absolutely wrong”. Criticising Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, he said that the LG was utilising his powers for “wrong purposes”.”This is absolutely wrong. In a democracy, protest is the right given by the Constitution of India. The sad part is that J&K is a UT, and the LG has all the powers. He is using it for the wrong purposes. Was it important to prevent Sanjay Singh from speaking? This is not an autocratic rule. There is a constitution here,” the former J&K CM said.AAP MP Sanjay Singh was allegedly not allowed by the Jammu and Kashmir police to leave the government guest house in Srinagar to protest against the arrest of fellow party leader Mehraj Malik.Sharing the visuals on X, Sanjay Singh called the police action “dictatorship”.”Dictatorship is at its peak. I am in Srinagar at this moment. Raising one’s voice for rights and protesting in a democracy is our constitutional right,” he wrote.Singh added that the AAP leaders were to hold a protest and a press conference in Srinagar.The AAP MP wrote, “Today, there was a press conference and sit-in in Srinagar against the illegal arrest of Mehraj Malik, but the government guest house has been turned into a police camp. I am not being allowed to leave the guest house with Imran Hussain and companions.”The visit came after the detention of Malik, an AAP MLA from the Doda constituency, who was booked under the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, on Monday for activities being prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
