BJP misusing laws, J-K MLA's detention shows ruling party afraid of AAP: Saurabh Bharadwaj

New Delhi, Sep 10 (PTI) AAP's Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday alleged that the BJP was "misusing laws" to target the opposition and claimed that the detention of the party’s Jammu and Kashmir MLA Mehraj Malik under the PSA showed the ruling party was "afraid of AAP".

There was no immediate response from the BJP regarding the allegations.

Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj said, "In Delhi, one of our MLAs, Naresh Balyan, has been in jail for over 10 months under MCOCA. There is no law left under which our Okhla MLA Amantullah Khan is not being charged. Our leader, Arvind Kejriwal, was sent to jail, Manish Sisodia was sent to jail, and Sanjay Singh was sent to jail. Now they have arrested our J-K MLA Mehraj Malik under PSA so they can keep him in jail for many years." He claimed that thousands of people had taken to the streets in Doda to protest Malik's arrest, prompting authorities to impose a curfew and suspend internet services.

"Why is the BJP so afraid of AAP MLAs? We have only one MLA in Jammu and Kashmir. We are not afraid of the BJP; people are with us," Bharadwaj asserted.

The AAP leader alleged that the detention was "politically motivated" and an attempt to crush the party’s growing influence.

Earlier, AAP senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh joined a protest in Jammu against Malik's detention, calling it unconstitutional.

An uneasy calm prevailed in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district, where prohibitory orders remained in place on Wednesday following clashes between protesters and security forces during demonstrations against the detention of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik under the PSA.

Malik, who won the Doda seat in the 2024 Assembly elections by over 4,500 votes, was detained on Monday under the PSA for allegedly disturbing public order, officials said. He was subsequently lodged in the Kathua district jail.

This is the first time a sitting MLA in Jammu and Kashmir has been taken into custody under the stringent law, which allows detention without charge or trial for up to two years in some cases. PTI MHS MHS HIG HIG