Mehbooba Mufti, daughter allegedly put under house arrest; NC slams J&K admin
Srinagar: PDP president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and her daughter Iltija on Friday claimed that they had been detained at their residence to prevent them from visiting the house of arrested party leader Waheed Ur Rehman Parra in Pulwama in South Kashmir.
Reacting to the alleged detention, National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah said personal liberty is treated as a favor by the government, giving and withdrawing it at will, with no interference from the judiciary.
"I've been illegally detained yet again. Since two days, the JK admin has refused to allow me to visit @parawahid's family in Pulwama. BJP Ministers and their puppets are allowed to move around in every corner of Kashmir but security is a problem only in my case," Mufti tweeted in English and Urdu.
"Their cruelty knows no bounds. Waheed was arrested on baseless charges and I am not allowed to even console his family. Even my daughter Iltija has been placed under house arrest because she also wanted to visit Waheed's family," she said.
Parra was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday for allegedly seeking help from the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group in seeking their support in the 2019 Parliamentary elections in which Mufti was the PDP candidate.
Mufti had sought security clearance for her visit to the residence of Parra at Naira village on Friday to meet his family.
In a communication posted on her official Twitter handle, Additional Director General of Police and Director Special Security Group (SSG) S D Singh sought rescheduling of the proposed visit of the former chief minister to the Naira village on the demand of the Pulwama district police.
The Pulwama Police sought the rescheduling of her program citing that neither an anti-sabotage check nor a proper route sanitization had been done as the entire manpower was committed for other election-related operation duties.
Jammu and Kashmir is all set for the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls and by-elections to the panchayat and urban local bodies, scheduled to be held in eight phases beginning November 28.
NC vice president Omar Abdullah accused the Jammu and Kashmir administration of treating personal liberty as a favor.
"Parking a truck in front of our gates is now the standard operating procedure for this admin. They did the same to my father recently to stop him from praying. Personal liberty is treated as a favor by the govt, to give & withdraw at will, with no interference from the judiciary," Omar Abdullah wrote on Twitter.
His father and NC president Farooq Abdullah was on October 30 prevented from leaving his residence to offer prayers at Hazratbal shrine on the occasion of Eid-Milad-un-Nabi.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
SC to hear plea on air pollution crisis in Delhi-NCR on Dec 17
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday said it will list for hearing on December 17 a plea related to worsening air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pamcholi took note of the submissions of senior advocate Aprajita Singh, who is assisting it as an amicus curiae, that though the preventive measures are there in place but the key issue was of their poor implementation by the authorities.
Singh said till this court directs something, the authorities do not comply with the protocols which are already there.
“This is coming up before a three judges bench on Wednesday. It will come up,” the CJI said.
Another lawyer referred to an application relating to the health issue of children, and said schools, despite the earlier orders, are holding outdoor sports activities.
“Despite the order of this court, Schools have found ways and means to have these sporting activities.. it is taking place. The CAQM (Commission for Air Quality Management) is again citing the order of this court,” the amicus also said.
“We know the problem and let us pass orders which can be complied with. There are some directions which can be forcibly imposed. In these urban metropolitan cities people have their own lifestyle. But the poor…,” the CJI said.
The amicus said the poor labourers are the worst ones to suffer.
Earlier the bench had said the plea against air pollution cannot be treated as a "customary" case to be listed only during the winter months only.
It had said the case will be taken twice in a month to find out short and long-term solutions to the menace.
Delhi on Monday choked under a thick blanket of smog, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 498, which falls in the higher spectrum of 'severe' category.
The air quality was 'severe' at 38 stations while it was 'very poor' at two stations. Jahangirpuri, which recorded an AQI of 498, recorded the worst air quality amongst all 40 stations.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.
The AQI in Delhi had climbed to 461 on Sunday and marked the city's most polluted day this winter and the second-worst December air quality day on record, as weak winds and low temperatures trapped pollutants close to the surface.
