The Centre has announced a five-year ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliate organisations.
The Centre has declared the PFI to be a “unlawful organisation” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The decision came after several nationwide raids and the arrest of over 240 people associated with the PFI.
Apart from terming it an “unlawful organization”, the Centre said that the PFI has links with Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
“PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts operate openly as a socio-economic, educational, and political organisation, but they have been pursuing a secret agenda to radicalise a specific section of society,” the notification further read.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has welcomed the decision of the central government to ban PFI.
Taking to Twitter, CM Sarma wrote, “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.”
