Patna:Taking a jibe at the BJP leaders for welcoming the Centre's decision to ban the Popular Front of India (PFI) for five years, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav demanded a ban on the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) too. The ruling JDU and RJD in Bihar have raised questions on the PFI ban, calling it a 'deliberate' act that would send a wrong message.
"Why only ban PFI, even RSS should be banned. A wrong message should not go that only minorities are being targeted. During the emergency, RSS was banned. RSS had formed the Durga Vahini wing also. Ban all such organisations and investigate their activities," said Lalu in Delhi today, after filing his nomination for the post of party national president.
On the other hand, JDU leader and minority affairs minister Jama Khan said, “People are laughing at this decision. These people have become restless and are doing whatever comes to their minds. First, they should have investigated the matter and if anything would have been found then action would have been taken. Every political party has several wings and they are active in politics as well. Banning PFI is like giving a message to target one section deliberately.”
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Speaking to ETV Bharat, Khan further said, “This is not the first time the centre has banned any organisation. Earlier also, they have done a similar thing to get benefit out of it. However, this time BJP will not get the benefit in 2024 as people have understood their agenda. These decisions have nothing to do with development and harmony. They are not even religious because in every religion brotherhood and peace exist. Every religion talks about not harming the sentiment of others. They have taken everything into their own hands, be it ED or even media as well. Those standing with BJP are safe and those against BJP are criminals, anti-social elements.”
Reacting to the ban, another JDU minister Shravan Kumar said that the BJP should also be banned. "BJP is engaged in spreading hatred in the society. In that sense BJP should also be banned in India," Shravan Kumar said.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi welcomed the Centre's decision on the PFI ban. "I welcome the decision of the central government to ban PFI for five years. The terror activities of PFI are reported from Bihar and several other states in south. There are allegations over foreign funds, arms training associated with terrorist organisations like ISIS. In fact, in the Phulwari Sharif raid, documents were recovered. In which it was mentioned that they had plans to make India an Islamic nation by 2047.”
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He further said, “When PM Narendra Modi visited Patna on July 14, PFI hatched a plan targeting him. Left parties in Bihar stood with PFI. Even RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari had openly said that if PFI is chanting slogans like Pakistan Zindabad, that's their way of protest. Congress on other hand gives speeches against terrorism but when Siddaramaiah was CM of Karnataka from 2013 to 2018, he dropped all 160 cases against more than 1600 active PFI members. So the Congress party and the grand alliance in Bihar cannot fight against terrorism. They want a vote bank for that particular community. They always have a soft corner towards them and call it the politics of appeasement.”
Bihar BJP Spokesperson Dr. Nikhil Anand also welcomed the Centre's decision and alleged that the ruling coalition in Bihar is doing politics over it. "The so-called secular parties must come clean on the issue and resolve not to do politics in alliance with anti-national and religious fundamentalist organisations. These organisations were working to put this country on a volcano of terror. The earlier banned organization called SIMI only changed its name to function as PFI. The modus operandi of SIMI or PFI is very simple, to enlist Muslims, particularly youth and train them for religious fundamentalism as well as anti-India and anti-Hindu nation activities,” Dr Nikhil told ETV Bharat.
He further said, “The PFI focused on the areas where the Muslim population is high, especially the bordering districts of India. They even targeted the people going to Mosques and Madarsas which provided them with a safe zone to carry on with their evil designs. We want to assure the people of this country that the Narendra Modi government and BJP will not allow these anti-national as well as religious fundamentalist organisations to challenge the unity, integrity and peace of India."
