'Kashmir is with us physically but not emotionally': Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury slammed the BJP-led Central government on Friday for deciding to keep two senior Kashmir leaders in detention using the Public Safety Act. Chowdhury also said that the region was with India only physically and not emotionally. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Lok Sabha MP from Berhampore, West Bengal, also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for criticising Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti in Parliament on Thursday. 

Speaking to the media Chowdhury said, "Prime Minister spoke against Omar Abdullah & Mehbooba Mufti in Parliament yesterday and they were booked under Public Safety Act (PSA) at night. You cannot govern Kashmir like this. Physically Kashmir is with us but not emotionally."

The Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978, of Jammu & Kashmir is an administrative detention law that allows authorities to detain a person for up to two years without a trial.

READ | Omar Abdullah & Mehbooba Mufti Booked Under Public Safety Act: Sources

PM in Parliament

Replying to the President's address during the Motion of Thanks, PM Modi said, "Mehbooba Mufti said, 'India has cheated Kashmir. It seems we picked the wrong side in 1947'. Omar Abdullah had said 'Removing Article 370 would bring an earthquake that will separate Kashmir from India'. Farooq Abdullah said 'If Article 370 is removed, there will be no one in the valley to unfurl the Indian flag'. Can any person devoted to the Indian constitution ever accept this?" According to reports, the statement that PM Modi quoted appeared to be from a satire website FakingNews.com.

READ | BJP Tamil Nadu Sends Razors To Detained Omar Abdullah After His Bearded Photo Goes Viral

Omar Abdullah & Mehbooba Mufti under PSA

In a shocking development on Thursday evening, former Jammu-Kashmir Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have been booked under the under stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) on Friday. Sources report that the documents and the papers have been signed by the Jammu-Kashmir government. Sources report that the former CMs' detention was set to end on Friday. Earlier, Omar Abdullah's father, NC Chief Farooq Abdullah (another ex-CM) was placed on detention under PSA. The Abdullahs and Mehbooba Mufti have been under detention ever since Jammu and Kashmir state's special status was scrapped and its bifurcation into two Union Territories announced in August 2019.

READ | 'Removed Article 370 From J&K, Not Razors': Giriraj Provokes On Omar Abdullah's Photo

What is PSA?

The Public Safety Act (PSA) is a 1978 Jammu and Kashmir law, often described as a draconian measure, that allows authorities to detain a person for up to two years without a trial. Former Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah were booked under the law on February 6, as were three others.

As per the PSA provisions, the government could detain a person for up to two years, although, for 'first-time offenders' the length of the detention is limited to six months. However, in the case of "no improvement in the conduct of the detainee," the detention can be extended to its full course of two years. The PSA act was initially promulgated during Sheikh Abdullah, the father of Farooq Abdullah's tenure.

READ | 'Shocked & Devastated': Chidambaram Slams Centre For Slapping PSA On Omar, Mufti