“The PFI is being investigated. All organisations like the PFI including the RSS… All of them should be banned,” said Lalu Yadav.
The Congress today reacted cautiously to the ban imposed on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and several of its associates by the Government under a stringent anti-terror law even as leaders like RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said the RSS too deserved to be banned. Most of the regional parties maintained a tactical silence.
Even while arguing that the PFI is an organisation which holds “extremist views” and has been indulging in “violent activities” against its perceived opponents, the CPM and the CPI, on the other hand, said banning the outfit was not the way to tackle the problem. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said though he always opposed the PFI’s approach, the “draconian” ban on the outfit cannot be supported.
While some of the Congress leaders including former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sought similar action against RSS alleging that they too were disturbing peace in the society, the Congress officially steered clear of mentioning the PFI or the RSS in a cryptic statement issued by Jairam Ramesh, the AICC general secretary in charge of communication.
He said the party has always been and will continue to be against all forms and types of communalism whether it pertains to the majority community or minorities.
“The Congress’s policy has always been to fight uncompromisingly all ideologies and institutions that abuse religion for polarising our society, that misuse religion to spread prejudice, hate, bigotry and violence. This fight is of utmost priority to preserve, protect and celebrate the secular and composite construct of our society and nationhood,” Ramesh said without either welcoming or condemning the ban.
Lalu, on the other hand, was aggressive. “The PFI is being investigated. All organisations like the PFI including the RSS… All of them should be banned,” said Lalu. “They keep raising the bogey of PFI. It is the RSS, which is all about Hindu extremism (‘kattarpanth’), that deserves to be banned first,” he added.
Taking a slightly divergent view from the central Congress, the Congress in Kerala and its coalition partner Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) welcomed the Centre’s decision to ban the PFI and said the RSS should also be similarly outlawed. “The RSS should also be banned like this. In Kerala, both majority communalism and minority communalism should be equally opposed. Both the outfits have flared up communal hatred and thus tried to create division in the society,” senior Congress leader from Kerala Ramesh Chennithala said.
Congress chief whip in Lok Sabha Kodikunnil Suresh echoed his view.
The CPM said the “notification of the PFI as an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) is not the way to tackle this problem. Past experience has shown that bans on organisations like the RSS and the Maoists were not effective. There has to be firm administrative action under the existing laws against the PFI whenever it indulges in illegal or violent activities. Its sectarian and divisive ideology must be exposed and fought politically among the people.”
“There are also extremist organisations like the Sanatan Sanstha and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, elements of whom have been implicated in the killings of noted secular writers and personalities. All these forces, whether they represent the extremist majority or minority groups, must be combated by utilising the regular laws of the land and by firm administrative action,” the party added.
“Ban on PFI is not a solution to the larger issue of communal polarisation in the country. RSS was banned but continued with polarisation, violence and politics of hatred through fringes. SIMI was banned. Lesson: promote harmony, defeat polarisation. Oppose terrorism of all shades!,” CPI general secretary D Raja said in a Twitter post.
Owaisi said he has opposed PFI’s extreme and radical approach but added that he has also always supported a democratic approach.
“This ban on PFI cannot be supported because actions of some individuals who commit crime do not mean that the organisation itself must be banned. The Supreme Court also has held that mere association with an organisation is not enough to convict someone,” he said. .
A draconian ban of this kind, he said, is dangerous “as it is a ban on any Muslim who wishes to speak his mind. He said “every Muslim youth will now be arrested with a PFI pamphlet under India’s black law, UAPA.” Further, he said “how come PFI is banned but organisations associated with convicts of Khaja Ajmeri bomb blasts aren’t? Why has the government not banned right wing majoritarian organisations?”
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