Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday hit out at the Centre over extending Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader, Mehmooba Mufti’s detention by another three months. She has been detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

“India’s democracy is damaged when GOI illegally detains political leaders,” Gandhi tweeted. “It’s high time Mehbooba Mufti is released,” he added.

Mufti (61) was detained on August 5, last year when the central government revoked Article 370, which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories.

Her detention under the PSA, was set to expire on August 5, ahead of which the centre extended it by another three months. She remains the only Kashmiri politician currently detained under the PSA.

Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram called extension of Mufti’s detention “an abuse of law and an assault on the Constitutional rights guaranteed to every citizen.”