Published 15:16 IST, January 3rd 2020
WB Police denies permission for PFI rally, Congress draws parallel with Yogi govt
After the WB Police denied permission to the Bengal unit of PFI to take out a rally, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary questioned Bengal government's move
A day after West Bengal Police denied permission to the Bengal unit of Popular Front of India (PFI) to take out a rally against the newly passed Citizenship Amendment Act(CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on the 5th of January, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary questioned Bengal government's move on Friday.
"PFI is being banned in Yogi Adityanath's state, although Home Ministry hasn't legally banned it yet. But why won't Bengal's 'didi' let PFI do anything? What Yogi thinks today, does Didi think the same tomorrow !!!" stated the veteran Congress leader a day after West Bengal Police denied PFI to take out a rally.
Proposed rally of PFI
The proposed rally of PFI stirred a political controversy on Thursday as its posters claimed that they had invited Trinamool Congress MP of Murshidabad, Abu Taher Khan to be a part of the rally. Hasibul Islam, spokesperson of the PFI in Murshidabad had said that they had invited the TMC MP from Murshidabad for the rally. Although, the TMC MP from Murshidabad later stated that he did not have any information whatsoever on the invitation or the rally proposed by PFI. Abu Taher Khan also said that his name was used in the PFI posters without his permission, for which he would register an FIR against the local PFI leaders.
Questioning the denial of permission for PFI's rally, Adhir Chaudhary indirectly asked whether West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee was following the lines of Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath.
UP Govt's request put a ban on PFI
The PFI was set up in 2006 as a federation of the National Development Fund (NDF), which was formed in Kerala in 1993 and subsequently emerged as the Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP) in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) in Karnataka. The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh had recently sent a report to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) requesting a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI).
The Yogi Adityanath-led UP goverment has accused the organisation and its political front, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) of instigating violence during the recent protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had claimed that PFI was the incarnation of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). SIMI is a banned organisation, which is accused of the propagation of Islamist jihad and the establishment of Islamic rule in India.
Updated 15:16 IST, January 3rd 2020