Srinagar: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Waheed Para on Friday said the Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, as the custodian of the House, must defend legislators to protect the “institution of MLA.”
Para, the Pulwama MLA, made the remarks after Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather issued him a show-cause notice on Wednesday over a social media post in which Para claimed the Assembly Secretariat had endorsed the detention of AAP MLA Mehraj Malik under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
“If the Speaker’s office does not stand up for an elected member, it sets a dangerous precedent,” Para told reporters here. “This is not about an individual; it is about the institution—the last space left to represent J-K’s citizens.”
He added, “Instead of faulting my concern, the Speaker should have supported it.”
Para described Rather as a “fatherly figure” and said he harbors no personal ill will toward the Speaker or his office. “During Assembly sessions, I have learned a lot from the way he conducted the House, upheld diversity, and accommodated differing voices. But as the custodian, protecting legislators is equally important,” he said.
The show-cause notice was issued in response to Para’s post on X following Malik’s arrest on Monday. The Speaker asked Para to explain, in person or in writing within seven days, why breach of privilege or contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for claiming that the Assembly Secretariat endorsed Malik’s PSA detention.
In his Monday post, Para had written: “Shameful surrender. The Assembly Secretariat endorsing PSA against an elected MLA is a direct assault on democracy. J&K CM @OmarAbdullah must act—don’t allow the institution of MLA, the last agency of the people, to be silenced. Today it’s Mehraj, tomorrow it could be you.”
