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Home ministry examining reports from states against Popular Front of India
The Uttar Pradesh Police has said it has ample evidence of the 25 arrested PFI activists’ active involvement in the recent anti-CAA violence in the state. UP has demanded a ban on the Kerala-based organization.
The home ministry has confirmed receiving reports from a few states on the Popular Front of India’s (PFI) role in the recent violent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, amid calls for banning the organisation.
States which have written to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) include Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, said a senior MHA official, who is aware of the developments but didn’t want to be named.
The Uttar Pradesh Police has said it has ample evidence of the 25 arrested PFI activists’ active involvement in the recent anti-CAA violence in the state. UP has demanded a ban on the Kerala-based organization.
The PFI describes itself as a social organization committed to empowering people to ensure justice, freedom and security but critics say it has a radical agenda. The organisation was born in 2006 through the merger of three Muslim organisations from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, and reportedly has about 80,000 members and sympathisers across India.
This isn’t the first time that a demand to ban PFI has been raised. In the previous Modi government, the issue was considered and examined by the centre. But no decision was taken.
“We have received reports from states and these are being examined carefully,” the MHA official who didn’t want to be named, said.
The MHA is the designated ministry which can ban organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
While the centre considers reports against PFI, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member Zafaryab Jilani has backed the organisation and said its activities are not “unlawful”.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal police have rejected PFI’s application to hold an anti-CAA rally in the state on Sunday.
