New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday, July 1, gave its approval to Kashmir’s jailed leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, to be sworn in as a member of Lok Sabha.
Although the date of the swearing-in ceremony will be announced by a Delhi court on Tuesday, it is likely to take place on July 5. However, the NIA has asked the court that conditions such as a ban on speaking with the media should be imposed on Rashid who has been languishing in Tihar jail following his arrest by the anti-terror agency in 2019 in a terror funding case.
Rashid’s lawyer, Vikhyat Oberoi, argued that his client’s victory in the Lok Sabha elections signified a strong democratic mandate given to him by the people of Baramulla. “He won with a large majority. People love him and want him to fight democratically for their rights in Parliament,” Oberoi told the court.
Rashid, who defeated former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah from the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency in north Kashmir, had applied for interim bail or conditional parole for being sworn in as an MP of the 18th Lok Sabha. His son, Abrar Rashid, had led the election campaign on behalf of his father.
The Patiala House Court will pass an order on the bail plea tomorrow.
The NIA counsel has proposed three dates, i.e., July 5, 6 and 7 for Rashid to take oath but the defence counsel argued that July 6 and 7 are holidays. Rashid’s council also urged the court to facilitate the in obtaining his identity card and other papers, including a bank account. Rashid’s family members have also sought permission to attend the oath-taking ceremony.
Rashid, a two-time MLA from north Kashmir’s Langate constituency who heads Awami Ittehad Party, had approached the Patiala House Court on June 5, seeking interim bail to take oath as a member of parliament following which the court sought the response of the NIA to his application.
On June 22, the NIA’s lawyer asked for some time to file a reply, claiming that the AIP leader was facing serious charges following which the matter was adjourned. Among those arrested with Rashid in the terror funding case are Jammu and Kashmir Liberation front chairman Yasin Malik, National Front president Nayeem Khan and other Hurriyat leaders.
However, Rashid’s counsel pointed to the order of Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court in Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh’s case and the Patna High Court, under which prison authorities had been asked to administer oath to another accused.
Later, the agency told the court that it was consulting parliament and the authorities at Tihar prison “about the petitioner’s prayer” for being allowed to swear in as a parliamentarian. However, the AIP leader was unable to attend the 18th Lok Sabha members’ swearing-in ceremony, as the hearing in his case got delayed.
The AIP leader, who joined politics after quitting the government service in 2008, was the first mainstream leader from Jammu and Kashmir to be booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Since 2019, the law has been invoked to incarcerate thousands of Kashmiris, including journalists. Many UAPA suspects, like Rashid, continue to languish in jails outside J&K.
The NIA’s green signal to Rashid, who enjoys widespread support across Kashmir, has come at a time when the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are around the corner. According to political analysts, Rashid’s appearance on the electoral landscape is likely to give jitters to the traditional mainstream parties such as the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“He has defeated J&K’s former chief minister from the oldest political party and a powerful ally of the BJP (in the form of Peoples Conference leader Sajad Lone). It is a significant victory which will shape the political contours of Jammu and Kashmir in coming days,” a former professor at the University of Kashmir, who wished to remain anonymous, had told The Wire earlier.
Last year, the J&K high court had allowed the PDP youth leader, Waheed Ur Rehman Para, to be sworn in as a member of the District Development Council unless there were no legal restrictions on administering the oath of office to the UAPA accused under the Panchayati Raj Act and Rules.
However, Parra, who heads the PDP youth wing, wasn’t allowed to take the oath, prompting the youth leader to approach the Election Commission of India, the chief election officer of J&K and deputy commissioner Pulwama with little success. The PDP leader was also booked under the draconian UAPA.
