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Srinagar: There was an uproar in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Monday over the issue of alleged cross-voting and detention of Doda MLA Mehraj Malik during the recent Rajya Sabha elections, with MLAs from the ruling National Conference (NC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing each other.
The issue of cross voting in Rajya Sabha elections was raised during the question hour in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary accused the BJP of ‘stealing’ four votes in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.
The Deputy Chief Minister said, “Yesterday you stole four votes. If I start speaking, no one will be sitting here. Let’s let a secret remain a secret.”
His remarks led to a heated exchange between the two parties and the NC MLAs retaliated by calling the BJP members “vote thieves”.
Amidst sloganeering and counter slogans, People’s Conference President and MLA Sajjad Gani Lone accused both NC and BJP of collusion. “It was match fixing,” Sajad alleged.
During Question Hour, there was a heated argument between the MLAs over Doda MLA Mehraj Malik being detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
The issue was raised on the second day of the autumn session, the first day being reserved for obituary references.
NC MLA Sajjad Shaheen called for an hour-long discussion on Malik’s “unfair” detention, which was attended by several members and demanded immediate revocation of the PSA order.
NC MLA Nazir Ahmed Khan argued that the authority of the Assembly is supreme, even above the courts, and insisted that the House should deliberate on the reasons behind Malik’s detention.
However, BJP MLAs objected to the demand and argued that the matter was sub-judice in the court and hence not suitable for discussion in the House.
Some BJP members also accused ruling party members of trying to politicize the legal matter.
“Such issues should not be brought to the House when due process of law is already underway,” the BJP MLAs said.
This exchange led to a brief uproar, after which the Speaker intervened and assured that all members would be allowed to raise matters of public importance as per the rules of procedure.
Many MLAs, including PDP and NC, supported Shaheen’s demand, calling Mehraj Malik’s detention unfair and politically motivated.
The issue, he said, is emblematic of a larger pattern of preventive detention being used to suppress dissenting voices in Jammu and Kashmir.
–IANS