THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan refuted Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju’s statement that Kerala had called for a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI). “Rijiju, in a media interview, said Kerala had pressed for a ban on the PFI in the DGP’s conference held in Madhya Pradesh last month. But Kerala hadn’t raised such a demand at the conference or on any other platform,” said Pinarayi.
He said banning communal or terrorist organisations was not the policy of the government. “If any organisation is to be banned for creating communal divide in the society and revolt, then the RSS should be the first. Such organisations can’t be opposed through a ban if previous experiences are any indication. Government has the same stand in the case of PFI.
Communalism and terrorism should be opposed through strict legal steps and people’s resistance,” he said. The chief minister said his government was taking strong steps against communalism and terrorism. Its results are evident as 104 cases were registered against NDF-PFI workers between 2005 and 2012. Only 14 cases were registered between 2013 and 2017.
Police speak T’Puram:
State Police, in a communication here on Thursday, said they had not proposed a ban on the PFI. “There was a presentation discussion on the topic “Radicalisation- PFI, A Case Study” in the DGP’s conference held in January at Tekanpur, MP. The presentation was made by the Kerala DGP. In it, there was neither a suggestion nor any recommendation to impose a ban on the PFI,” the statement said