Omar's influence over voters cited as a reason for PSA charges

New Delhi: The Public Security Act was invoked against former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah due to his "considerable influence" and his ability to draw voters to polling booths, said the government dossier that contained charges against the politician, PTI reported.

Abdullah, former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, and several other Kashmiri political leaders were charged under the Act on Thursday.

Under the PSA, a person may be detained without a trial for three to six months. These leaders have been in detention for six months now since the Centre amended Article 370 of the Constitution on August 5 to abrogate the region's special status, and bifurcated it into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

"The capacity of the subject to influence people for any cause can be gauged from the fact that he was able to convince his electorate to come out and vote in huge numbers even during peak of militancy and poll boycotts," read the dossier.

It also stated that he had allegedly tried to provoke people through Twitter against the revocation of the erstwhile state's special status on August 4, a day before the Centre formally announced it in Parliament. However, no tweets were cited to support the accusations.

In the last tweets posted by Abdullah on the intervening night of August 4 and 5 last year, he had said that he was being placed under house arrest, and appealed for calm among the masses.

"Violence will only play into the hands of those who do not have the best interests of the state in mind," he had written.

"This wasn't the India Jammu and Kashmir acceded to but I'm not quite ready to give up hope yet. Let calm heads prevail. God be with you all."