Chennai: Popular Front of India (PFI) Tamil Nadu unit President Mohamed Shaik Ansari has said there is no need to write the judgment prematurely on the arrests and detentions made by the National Investigative Agencies and his organization has resolved to fight the NIA action against its functionaries “legally and democratically”.
Addressing a packed press conference here on September 25, the PFI state unit president alleged that the ED and the NIA are taking action against the PFI based on allegations made by the BJP and the RSS and the violent attacks on properties of the BJP and RSS functionaries is not his party’s handiwork. The PFI has nothing to gain from such an attack and it’s unfortunate that the crackdown being is done when the party “has gained support from democratic forces,” he said.
Ansari alleged that ‘right-wing organizations have a tendency to fake attacks for political gains and the NIA raids and arrest is being done at its behest. He claimed all the so-called attacks on the Hindu rightwing elements are fake and such allegations are made for political gain.
“There was an incident of a person who cut his own arm and got himself admitted to a hospital, claiming he was a victim of a terror attack. Another office-bearer of a right-wing outfit claimed he was abducted to get personal security. There was an instance of a person setting fire to his own car.”
“So, we have doubts that the actions of the Central agencies are based on such faking attacks. These allegations are made only by the BJP leaders and none else. The police should not act on the pressure exerted by them,” Ansari said.
“Most of the arrests have been made under suspicion, so let us wait for the law enforcement agencies to conduct a fair probe and complete their investigation first.”
“The PFI doesn’t have any history of violent attacks and we have nothing to gain at a time when we have democratic support from all quarters, the police and intelligence agencies should probe whether there are other organizations involved in these attacks,” Ansari said.
Popular Front of India (PFI) is an Indian Muslim political organization that was formed to counter Hindutva groups. It was founded in 2006 with the merger of the Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) and the National Development Front (NDF).
The organization describes itself as a “neo-social movement committed to empowering people to ensure justice, freedom, and security”. According to PFI, it is an organization that opposes fascist ideology and supports democracy and secularism.
PFI has often been accused of involvement in anti-national and anti-social activities by the Government. In 2012, the Government of Kerala claimed that the organization was a resurrection of the banned terrorist outfit Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), an affiliate of the Indian Mujahedeen.
On 22 September 2022, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted a large-scale raid on the premises of the organization across the country, on charges of terror funding and money laundering. The raid resulted in the detaining of more than 100 PFI leaders and activists.
Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com
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