Recently, the Congress led Chhattisgarh government took a shocking decision by moving the Supreme Court under Article 131 seeking to declare the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act of 2008 arbitrary and unconstitutional. The challenge to the validity of the Act is an attempt to threaten the very existence of the elite counter terror agency.
Unsurprisingly, the Congress’ decision has now found vocal support in the radical Islamist organisation, the Popular Front of India (PFI). The radical organisation tweeted a Press Release which read, “Popular Front of India National General Secretary M Mohamed Ali Jinnah has welcomed Chhattisgarh Government’s decision to challenge the constitutionality of the draconian NIA Act in the Supreme Court and urged other non-BJP State Governments also to approach apex court to strike down the act which is against the spirit of federalism.”
https://twitter.com/PFIOfficial/status/1217688789394415618
PFI’s support to the Congress does not come as much of a surprise. The SIMI affiliated outfit clearly benefits from the weakening of the Indian security apparatus. The Kerala based PFI has now drawn fire for quite some time for its violent and terror activities. The Islamist organisation has been involved in several murder cases with communal angle in the Southern states. PFI also shares deep links with the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), a banned terror outfit.
In fact, in 2014 itself the Kerala government had admitted the deep connections of the PFI with banned terror organisation, Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). In an affidavit filed before the Kerala High Court, the Kerala government had stated that Popular Front of India, is “nothing but a resurrection of the banned outfit Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) in another form”.
The affidavit had also stated that the most of the former members of the SIMI are now either identified with the Popular Front of India or are at present holding various portfolios in the PFI.
The affidavit had informed the High Court about 27 communally motivated murder cases, 86 attempts to murder cases and 106 communal cases with PFI’s active involvement in all of them.
The PFI has again come into spotlight after its footprints in violence all over the country during the CAA protests last month. There were clear markings of the PFI in the anti CAA violence that rocked several parts of India including Assam, Delhi, Lucknow and Mangaluru.
In fact, the PFI activists have also been involved with global terror organisations. There have been reports about PFI activists joining the ISIS, and a Times Now investigation had suggested that some of the organisations funding radical Islamist, PFI, have also been linked to the global terrorist organization, the Al-Qaeda.
After the Kerala based outfit orchestrated violence across the country during the anti CAA protests, demands for banning it have rightly resurfaced in BJP ruled states, especially in the state of Uttar Pradesh where 25 people linked to the PFI have been arrested by the state administration. As such the threat of getting banned in the state of Uttar Pradesh is looming large upon the SIMI-affiliate.
The PFI is already banned in the state of Jharkhand. The Raghubar Das government which was ousted recently had banned the radical Islamist body last year for having alleged links with the Islamic State. The PFI was banned under Section 16 of The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1908. The anti CAA violence has now given a fresh cause of action to ban the PFI in other states also.
In fact, the PFI has been on the radar of central agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA). In September 2017, the National Investigation Agency had submitted a report on the PFI to the ministry, claiming that the group has been involved in terror acts, including running terror camps and making bombs, and it was a fit case to be declared banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The PFI is fully aware that its nefarious designs stand exposed. As such the NIA is a powerful instrument that can play an instrument role in getting the Islamist organisation banned. The PFI thus fears the NIA for some very obvious reasons.
The PFI has traditionally enjoyed political patronage. The CPI(M) government in Kerala has been accused of allowing the PFI to foster in the state by overlooking the activities of the Islamist organisation. What further corrboates how the PFI has thrived in political patronage is the fact that even the former Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari had attended an event in Kozhikode, Kerala, which was co-organised by the National Women’s Front (NWF), the women’s wing of the Popular Front of India.
Growing aware of the existential crisis that the PFI finds itself in, the Islamist outfit seems to be falling back upon political support. Bhupesh Baghel government’s decision to challenge the NIA Act has come at a time when the PFI is fighting tooth and nail for its survival. This explains why the PFI is all praise for Chhattisgarh government’s decision to challenge the 2008 Act establishing the NIA.