The viral video of a child allegedly raising communally charged slogans during a Popular Front of India (PFI) protest in Alappuzha, Kerala, is a classic example of the extent of Islamist preaching spread across the social fabric by extremist groups. Leaders of both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress in Kerala.
However, a blame game continues between the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Congress and the BJP over the banning of the “extremist” group PFI and its political wing Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).
While the Congress has accused the BJP of dragging its feet on passing a central law to ban the organisation, it has also said that the Pinarayi Vijayan-led CPI(M) government in Kerala tried to root it out. Haven’t done anything. The BJP accuses both the CPI(M) and the Congress of promoting the rise of the PFI for political gains.
A senior Congress leader from Kerala, on the condition of anonymity, said that the entire incident, including the video of the child, reflects the prevailing ideology and polarization in the society.
“It is nothing short of a form of extremism with the sole goal of creating unrest and communally charged sentiments in the otherwise peaceful state of Kerala. Such organizations have to be banned, there is no doubt about it,” the leader said.
Kerala BJP spokesperson VV Rajesh told News18, “The PFI enjoys the support of the Left government and the Congress has always taken a soft stance to ensure that it does not lose its minority votes.”
He said both the ruling CPI(M) and the Congress were the main “accused” in promoting the rise of the PFI.
“They (PFI) are getting stronger because of strong support from Kerala government and CPI(M). We can conclude that under Pinarayi Vijayan’s reign, PFI has become more powerful as no steps have been taken to arrest their anti-national activities,” Rajesh said. “On the other hand, Congress is the main accused behind these terror activities in Kerala. The Muslim League, an ally of the UDF and Congress, was the main sponsor for the NDF and PFI. That’s why they remain silent. They are afraid of losing the minority vote.”
News18 spoke to senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who said that India’s strength has been its secularism and people should draw strength from it and not get distracted by acts that tear the social secular fabric.
“The government should draw strength from our secular approach and leave the impression of unity, not divisiveness in the minds of the people,” he said.
News18 did it before specially reported The NIA dossier details that “PFI was the second incarnation of the Rashtriya Vikas Morcha which was formed after the 1993 Babri Masjid demolition and the subsequent riots.”
The NIA has called the Popular Front of India a “threat to national security” and mentioned in its report how several Muslim fundamentalist organizations, including the PFI, have emerged in Kerala. Its predecessor, the National Democratic Front (NDF), in 2006 merged with other like-minded organizations—Manitha Nithi Pasarai (MNP) in Tamil Nadu and the Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) to form the Popular Front of India. The NIA in its dossier has also mentioned the presence of PFI in 23 states across the country.
“We are waiting for the order of the central government to ban the organisation. The BJP at the Center and in the state has taken a strong stand that PFI and SDPI are ‘terrorist organisations’ which should be banned immediately.
After probing the viral video, the Kerala Police registered a case against two PFI leaders, Nawaz Vandanam and Mujeeb, both senior functionaries of the organization’s Alappuzha unit.
Kerala High Court also expressed serious concern about children participating in such religious-political rallies and being used to raise slogans.
Justice Gopinath sought the legality behind the presence of children in rallies like PFI and said, “I just want to know if there is any law which prohibits it. These kids will grow up with hatred inside them.”
The PFI as an organization has already been banned in several states and central government sources have confirmed that “very soon” both it and the SDPI will be banned in the country.
The PFI first came under police scrutiny in 2010 when Kerala professor TJ Joseph’s hand was amputated for insulting Prophet Mohammed in a question paper for an internal examination at Newman College, Thodupuzha, where he taught Malayalam was.
Be it protests against hijab and anti-CAA protests in Karnataka, allegations of love jihad and forced conversions in South India or a gold smuggling racket in Kerala, investigative agencies link PFI to them all. Several incidents over the years have been directly or indirectly linked to the PFI, including the recent violence when Ram Navami processions were taken out in states like Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand. Were.
In Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had also made it clear that even the slightest “communal and terror-related activity” would not be tolerated in the state and reiterated that his government has sought a ban on PFI by the Centre. He also said that as part of its election campaign for the 2023 Assembly elections, the BJP will expose and target the Congress for how it withdrew police cases against Popular Front of India workers between 2013 and 2018. For.
In 2020, the NIA arrested 17 members of the SDPI and PFI following violence and arson in Bengaluru, after a large group of people attacked a Facebook post by a Congress MLA’s nephew at KG Halli police station, purportedly The Prophet was insulted. , Three people died in this and many were injured.
In the midst of all these allegations, allegations and investigations, there is no question of banning PFI. News18 spoke to several leaders at the Center and they said the government wants to ensure that the law banning terror outfits in the country is “sustained” and they don’t “raise their ugly head again”.
As far as the SDPI, the political arm of the PFI, legal experts say that there is no provision in the law yet to ban a political party in India.
Anees Ahmed, National General Secretary Popular Front of Indiatold News18 that there must be valid reasons for an organization to be banned.
“We are of the view that merely by blaming the PFI, it cannot provide any ground for banning us. What we have seen till date are only allegations and nothing has been proved. You cannot demand a ban on an organization on the basis of allegations. “These allegations are not new. If you see that some crime is happening somewhere, allegation of having links with PFI in some way or the other. Many allegations are made to sensationalise and when facts come out, things turn out to be false.”
He said that the NIA dossier is nothing but a heap full of allegations. “There is nothing concrete in this and nothing has been proved till date. There is no substance in it. Whatever allegations are being leveled against PFI, if you compare it with the criminal acts of BJP and RSS, it is 0.1 percent Neither is.
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