The five leaders who have been released from detention are Salman Sagar (NC), Nizamuddin Bhat (ex-MLC PDP), Showkat Ganai (ex-MLC National Conference), Altaf Kalloo (ex-MLA National Conference), and Muktiar Baba (PDP).
Srinagar, January 16:
The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday released five politicians including three former legislators after keeping them in preventive detention for more than five months following the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution which granted special status to J&K on August 5, 2019.
Of the five leaders, three are from the National Conference (NC) leaders, while the other two are from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The five leaders who have been released from detention are Salman Sagar (NC), Nizamuddin Bhat (ex-MLC PDP), Showkat Ganai (ex-MLC National Conference), Altaf Kalloo (ex-MLA National Conference), and Muktiar Baba (PDP). These five detainees were lodged at MLA Hostel. All of them have now been released.
On December 30, five other mainstream politicians, including two MLAs, were released from detention in the MLA hostel.
Following the abrogation of Article 370, three former Chief Ministers — Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti — and many others were detained.
Farooq Abdullah was detained at his house at Gupkar Road which has now been declared as a sub-jail. Omar Abdullah has been kept at Hari Niwas and Mehbooba Mufti is detained at a government house on MA Road in Srinagar.
On December 30, the J&K administration had released five leaders who had been under detention since August 5.
The five leaders who were kept under preventive detention belonged to the NC, the PDP and the Congress. The leaders included Ishfaq Jabbar and Ghulam Nabi Bhat (NC), Bashir Mir (Congress) and Zahoor Mir and Yasir Reshi (PDP).
Lately, Home Minister Amit Shah had said that a decision on the J&K leaders’ release would be taken by the administration of the union territory.
Amit Shah also said that Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti had to be detained for “some time” after they made provocative statements.
“Please see the statements made by them, like the entire country will be on fire if Article 370 was touched…In the backdrop of these statements, a professional decision was taken to keep them under detention for some time,” Amit Shah said while addressing a news summit.
Courtesy: India Today
