NC leader arrested under UAPA for hate speech; Abdullah & Mehbooba Mufti hit out at Centre

In a big development on Tuesday, the Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested NC MP Mohammad Akbar Lone's son Hilal Lone for allegedly delivering a hate speech at a rally during the 2020 District Development Council polls. In the FIR registered at a police station in Hajin in north Kashmir's Bandipora district, he was booked under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Since December 25 last year, he was detained in the MLA hostel. After the abrogation of Article 370, the NC leader had spent nearly 10 months in detention before being released in June 2020. 

Reacting to Lone's arrest, NC vice president Omar Abdullah claimed that BJP has a completely different standard when it comes to taking action against hate speech. To buttress his point, he cited a media report which alleges that BJP has the largest number of lawmakers in the country with declared cases of hate speech against them. Similarly, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also castigated the Centre for "shamelessly" booking mainstream Kashmiri leaders under the UAPA. Reiterating Abdullah's charge, she contended that no action was taken against BJP MPs, Ministers and its IT cell for allegedly inciting communal hatred against minorities. 

Read: Foreign Envoys On 2-day JK Visit From Wednesday To Assess Situation Post-DDC Polls: Officials

Read: DDC Polls Held In Two Districts Of Kashmir, Adjourned In 3 Districts Of Jammu

DDC polls

The DDC polls - the first big election held after the revocation of J&K's special status was conducted in eight phases between November 28 and December 19, 2020, with a voter turnout of 51.42 percent. While the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration emerged as the single-largest coalition with 110 seats, BJP too made inroads in the Union Territory by becoming the single-largest party with 75 seats. The PAGD's constituents- NC, PDP, JKPC, CPI(M), and JKPM bagged 67, 27, 8, 5, and three seats respectively. 

After winning 26 seats in the DDC election, Congress too has decided to support the opposition alliance. Meanwhile, the newly formed J&K Apni Party could bag only 12 seats. In a blow to the PAGD on January 19, the Sajad Lone-led Jammu and Kashmir People's Conference pulled out of the alliance. Sajad Lone had claimed that the party fielding the candidate on behalf of the PAGD was left to fend for itself while other constituents compounded the problem by putting up proxy candidates.

Read: BJP Gets DDC Chairpersons, Vice Chairperson Posts In Udhampur, Doda