Kapil Sibal questions Farooq Abdullah's detention under PSA, asks if Vaiko's plea in Supreme Court led to move

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Tuesday hit out at the BJP over the detention of Farooq Abdullah under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and questioned whether the step was prompted by MDMK chief Vaiko’s plea in the Supreme Court seeking a directive that the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister be produced before it.

Abdullah has now been detained under the stringent PSA, which also has a provision to enable authorities to detain any individual for two years without trial.

The 81-year-old patron of the National Conference has been under house arrest since 5 August when the Centre announced abrogation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into Union territories.

“Now PSA (43 days later). Earlier, BJP said 92 percent of the people in Jammu and Kashmir welcomed dilution of Article 370; (and) that normalcy prevails. Then (Home Minister) Amit Shah in Parliament said Farooq Abdullah was neither detained nor arrested,” Sibal said in a tweet.

Now PSA (43 days later)

Earlier BJP said 92% of people in J&K welcome dilution of Art.370 ; that normalcy prevails

Then Amit Shah in Parliament : Farooq Abdullah neither detained nor arrested

If no danger to public safety then , why now ?

Because Vaiko filed petition?

— Kapil Sibal (@KapilSibal) September 17, 2019

“If no danger to public safety then, why now? Because Vaiko filed petition?” he said.

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration to respond to Vaiko’s plea seeking that the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister be produced before the court.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices SA Bobde and SA Nazeer issued notice to the Centre and the state, and fixed Rajya Sabha MP Vaiko’s plea for hearing on 30 September.