File photo of J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed
New Delhi: BJP lawmakers in Jammu and Kashmir have submitted a memorandum to chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, demanding an immediate arrest of Masarat Alam, the separatist who was released from prison on Saturday.
The lawmakers have also asked the chief minister to review his decision to revoke Mr Alam's detention under the Public Safety Act or PSA, and have demanded that all cases against the separatist leader be investigated again.
The memorandum was submitted just hours after PM Modi said in Parliament that Mr Alam's release was unacceptable and the decision was taken without the Centre's consent.
"I also lend my voice to the outrage on the release of the separatist... this is not one party's outrage, it is the nation's outrage," PM Modi said in the Lok Sabha, promising that there will be "no compromise on the integrity of the nation" or public safety and security.
The Jammu and Kashmir government, PM Modi said, had not consulted the Centre on "its activities post government formation," last week.
Masarat Alam, 44, arrested in 2010 for allegedly fanning trouble during street protests in which over 100 people died in Kashmir, was released on Saturday from the Baramulla jail on the order of chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, whose Peoples Democratic Party or PDP has just formed government in Jammu and Kashmir in an alliance with ideological opposite, the BJP.
The PDP says Mr Alam has been released as part of its reconciliation effort and separatists cannot be engaged with or brought into the peace process if they continue in jail. "Masarat Alam was under illegal detention... we will not keep anybody in jail illegally," minister and party spokesperson Naeem Akhtar told NDTV.
The lawmakers have also asked the chief minister to review his decision to revoke Mr Alam's detention under the Public Safety Act or PSA, and have demanded that all cases against the separatist leader be investigated again.
The memorandum was submitted just hours after PM Modi said in Parliament that Mr Alam's release was unacceptable and the decision was taken without the Centre's consent.
"I also lend my voice to the outrage on the release of the separatist... this is not one party's outrage, it is the nation's outrage," PM Modi said in the Lok Sabha, promising that there will be "no compromise on the integrity of the nation" or public safety and security.
The Jammu and Kashmir government, PM Modi said, had not consulted the Centre on "its activities post government formation," last week.
Masarat Alam, 44, arrested in 2010 for allegedly fanning trouble during street protests in which over 100 people died in Kashmir, was released on Saturday from the Baramulla jail on the order of chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, whose Peoples Democratic Party or PDP has just formed government in Jammu and Kashmir in an alliance with ideological opposite, the BJP.
The PDP says Mr Alam has been released as part of its reconciliation effort and separatists cannot be engaged with or brought into the peace process if they continue in jail. "Masarat Alam was under illegal detention... we will not keep anybody in jail illegally," minister and party spokesperson Naeem Akhtar told NDTV.
Story first published: Mar 09, 2015 17:33 IST
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