PFI dissolved, say office bearers, as Opposition parties deem ban ‘biased’

“In Karnataka, the Sri Ram Sene has also been distributing communal harmony by distributing weapons. But the government is not taking any action against it or other right-wing groups such as the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), who attack Dalits and women all around the country,” JD(S) vice-president Syed Shafiullah told South First.

Not supporting the ban, four-time Member of Parliament from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi said: “How come the PFI is banned but organisations associated with the convicts of the Khaja Ajmeri bomb blasts (the Ajmer Dargah explosions of 2011) aren’t? Why has the government not banned right-wing majoritarian organisations?”

Along with the PFI, the government also deemed “unlawful” its eight affiliate outfits, including its student wing Campus Front of India, and invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA against them.

The move to ban the PFI came barely a week after a multi-agency operation spearheaded by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided 93 locations associated with the organisation in 15 states and arrested most of its frontal leaders.

‘Maintain secular-democratic character of republic’ 

While condemning the extremist views and violent acts of the PFI, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) stated that similar action must be taken against the cadres of the RSS, Sanatan Sanstha, and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.

“The PFI and the RSS have been engaged in killings and retaliatory killings in Kerala and coastal Karnataka, vitiating the atmosphere with a view to create communal polarisation,” it said in a statement.

“There are also extremist organisations like the Sanatan Sanstha and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, elements of whom have been implicated in the killings of noted secular writers and personalities,” added the party.

CPI(M) has been strongly opposed to these extremist views and has always condemned the violent activities of the PFI.
However, the notification of the PFI as an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) is not the way to tackle this problem (1/n) pic.twitter.com/8kkzABGT4Y

— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) September 28, 2022

The Congress, on a similar note, said that the fight was for the secular construct of the nation.

“The Congress has always been and will continue to be against all forms and types of communalism — majority, minority makes no difference,” MP and AICC general secretary for communications Jairam Ramesh said in a statement.

‘Mere association not enough to convict’

While opposing the PFI’s radicalised approach, AIMIM leader Owaisi said that the ban on the organisation “cannot be supported”.

We should remember that Congress amended UAPA to make it stringent & when BJP amended the law to make it even more draconian, Congress supported it

This case will follow timeline of Kappan, where any activist or journalist is randomly arrested & takes 2 years to even get bail

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) September 28, 2022

Owaisi, who is also a barrister, said, “Actions of some individuals who commit a crime do not mean that the organisation itself must be banned. Even the Supreme Court has held that mere association with an organisation is not enough to convict someone.”

Calling this an attack on Muslims, he said: “The way India’s electoral autarky is approaching fascism, every Muslim youth will now be arrested with a PFI pamphlet under India’s black law, the UAPA.”

‘UAPA not enough to tackle problem’

Both Owaisi and the CPI(M) slammed the Union government’s decision to invoke the UAPA.

The AIMIM leader called it draconian and said that he would never support it.

“I have opposed the UAPA and will always oppose all actions under the UAPA. It runs afoul of the principle of liberty, which is part of the basic structure of the constitution. This case will follow the timeline of Kappan, where any activist or journalist is randomly arrested, and it takes two years to even get bail,” he added, referring to the case of journalist Siddique Kappan.

“Past experience has shown that bans on organisations like the RSS and the Maoists were not effective. There has to be firm administrative action under the existing laws against the PFI whenever it indulges in illegal or violent activities,” the CPI said.

‘Decision should be backed with evidence’

The leaders of several Opposition parties emphasised that the Central government needed to back its decision with solid evidence and rationale.

“If the government of India has any proof against terror activities, it should act. However, the way it acted swiftly for the raids, it should act the same way and present the evidence it has that fuelled the arrests and the ban,” TRS spokesperson Krishank Manne told South First.

Shafiullah was also of the same view, demanding evidence from the Union government.

Raising suspicion over the timing of the move, Manne claimed that the BJP was trying to polarise the country ahead of the Gujarat and Karnataka Assembly elections.

Karnataka Congress questions SDPI-BJP ties

Meanwhile, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) — the PFI’s political wing — was neither deemed unlawful nor banned. The SDPI is a registered political party, and only the Election Commission of India can initiate action against it.

Raising suspicion over the relationship between the SDPI and the PFI, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) said, “The PFI and the SDPI were like two sides of the same coin. Why did the BJP government at the Centre not raise the issue about the SDPI, which is more active in electoral politics?”

“What alliance do the SDPI and the BJP have?” it asked in a message on social media, adding that the NIA needed to investigate this as well.

PFI ಹಾಗೂ SDPI ಒಂದೇ ನಾಣ್ಯದ ಎರಡು ಮುಖಗಳಂತಿದ್ದವು, ಚುನಾವಣಾ ರಾಜಕೀಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಸಕ್ರಿಯವಾಗಿರುವ SDPI ಸಂಘಟನೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಚಕಾರ ಎತ್ತದಿರುವುದೇಕೆ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರ.

SDPIಗೂ ಬಿಜೆಪಿಗೂ ಇರುವುದು "ಯಾವ ಜನ್ಮದ ಮೈತ್ರಿ"?
PFI ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಇದ್ದ ಬಿಜೆಪಿಯ ಹೊಂದಾಣಿಕೆ ಎಂತದ್ದು?

ಈ ಆಯಾಮದಲ್ಲಿ NIA ತನಿಖೆ ನಡೆಸಬೇಕಿದೆ.

— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) September 28, 2022