The Union Home Ministry on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that none of the political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir is under house arrest, however, 223 of them are under detention.
The revelation came while the Minister of State (Home) G Kishan Reddy was answering to Member of Parliament Asaddudin Owaisi and Syed Imtiaz Jaleel’s questions.
Reddy added that after the abrogation of Article 370, various measures were taken to maintain public order, including preventive detention of certain persons, and it has been reported by the government of Jammu and Kashmir.
‘All the rights enshrined in the Constitution of India and benefits of all the Central Laws that were being enjoyed by the citizens of India are now available to the people of J&K,’ he added, speaking on the changes that have come after the abrogation.
However, the opposition, People Democratic Party called it a ‘blatant lie’. PDP leader Waheed Para took to twitter stating the same.
Blatant lies in the parliment by union ministers that no one is under house arrest. It has now been 7 months of house arrest and 6 months of detention for many of us, since 5 August, 2019. pic.twitter.com/9al2bOQfJO
— Waheed Ur Rehman (@parawahid) September 15, 2020
The response of the Centre comes weeks after PDP leaders had alleged that they were prohibited from attending the party’s official meeting on September 3, Scroll had reported. In addition, various party leaders took to social media and posted videos showing police officers outside their residence, allegedly to prevent them from leaving their homes, where they have been reportedly detained.
However, in the latest development, the youth wing of the Union Territory, J&K PDP Youth conducted a political meeting today. The meeting was held for the first time after August 5, 2019. The meeting was presided over by VP A R Veeri Sb, General Secretary G N Lone Hanjura Sb, Waheed Para, Former MLA Aijaz Mir, Media Advisor Suhail Bukhari and party leader Bashir Mir.
Good to see @YouthJKPDP make a start with political meetings. Political activities must resume unhindered & the administration is duty bound to ensure a level playing field for all political parties. https://t.co/kzmCMSFq6b
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) September 16, 2020
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