New Delhi, Sep 28: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam on Wednesday welcomed the move by the union government to ban the Popular Front of India (PFI), calling it the as resolve to ensure that anyone with a diabolical, divisive, or disruptive design against India shall be dealt with an iron fist.
“I welcome the ban on (Popular Front of India) PFI by the Government of India. The Government is firm in its resolve to ensure that anyone with a diabolical, divisive, or disruptive design against India shall be dealt with an iron fist. India of Modi Era is Decisive & Bold,” Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam said on Wednesday.
I welcome the ban on (Popular Front of India) PFI by the Government of India.
The Government is firm in its resolve to ensure that anyone with a diabolical, divisive or disruptive design against India shall be dealt with iron fist.
India of Modi Era is Decisive & Bold.
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) September 28, 2022
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Wednesday morning banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its associates, including the Rehab India Foundation (RIF) and Campus Front of India, for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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“The Central Government is of the opinion that it is necessary to exercise its powers under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the UAPA Act as the PFI is involved in several criminal and terror cases and shows sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority of the country and with funds and ideological support from outside it has become a major threat to the internal security of the country, investigations in various cases have revealed that the PFI and its cadres have been repeatedly engaging in violent and subversive acts,” stated the notification.
In the first notification, the MHA said some of the PFI’s founding members are the leaders of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and that the radical outfit has links with the Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), both of which are proscribed organizations.
“There had been a number of instances of international linkages of PFI with Global Terrorist Groups like Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts have been working covertly to increase radicalization of one community by promoting a sense of insecurity in the country, which is substantiated by the fact that some PFI cadres have joined international terrorist organisations,” it states.
