Mangaluru, Feb 23: Hundreds of activists of Popular Front of India on Friday converged in front of the office of deputy commissioner in Mangaluru to register their protest against Jharkhand’s BJP-led government’s decision to ban the outfit in the eastern state.
The protesters rubbished the Jharkhand government’s charge that PFI has connections to the so called Islamic State, a dreaded terror outfit, a blatant lie.
Raising slogans against the chief minister Narendra Modi–led union government and chief minister Raghubar Das –led Jharkhand government, the agitators said that it was Sangh Parivar that indulged in anti-national and terror activities, and not PFI.
Speaking on the occasion, Yasir Hasan, Karnataka state general secretary of PFI, said that his organisation is a hope for the downtrodden and deprived communities, backward classes and minorities in India.
He said that PFI would continue its agitation and counter the Jharkhand government’s decision legally. He said PFI always believed and subscribed to the values of democracy and secularism fought for the rights of deprived classes.
SDPI DK district president Athaullah Jokatte, DK district Imam’s council president Rafeeq Darimi, PFI DK district general secretary Abdul Khader were present among others.
Protests in other parts of DK
The PFI activists staged similar protests in other parts of Dakshina Kannada districts too. The Bantwal and Farangipete units of PFI staged a protest in front of Mini Vidhana Saudha in BC Road.
Addressing the protesters, PFI district committee member Ashraf Machar said that since 2015 PFI has been a headache for the BJP govt in Jharkhand because they raised voice against its misrule. Unable to counter PFI, the government imposed ban on it, he said.
Another protest was held at Vittla junction. PFI Bantwal taluk president Imthiyaz Ahmed, speaking on the occasion, called Sangh Parivar an anti-national organisation. “Sangh Parivar should be banned in India and not PFI,” he said, adding that PFI will strengthen its presence in Jharkhand in coming days.
The Jharkhand govt’s claim
In a statement, the Jharkhand government on February 20 said: "The state has banned the Popular Front of India, which is active in Jharkhand, under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1908. The Home Department had recommended the ban."
"The PFI is very active in Pakur district. The members of the PFI, which was set up in Kerala, are influenced by the IS. According to Home Department report, some PFI members have even gone to Syria from southern states and are working for the IS," the government’s statement added.
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