Ban on PFI: Asaduddin Owaisi says 'draconian' action cannot be supported

All India MajliseIttehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday condemned the fiveyear ban on the Popular Front of India PFI and its affiliates and said that the organisation should not be blamed for the crimes committed by some individualsActions of some individuals who commit crime does not mean that the organisation itself must be banned Owaisi said in a series of tweets mentioning that Supreme Court also held that mere association with an organisation is not enough to convict someoneHe also emphasised that even though he has always opposed the approach of the PFI the draconian and dangerous ban on the outfit cannot be supportedWhile I have always opposed PFIs approach and supported democratic approach this ban on PFI cannot be supported he saidThe AIMIM chief also claimed that this was a ban on any Muslim who wishes to speak his mindThe way Indias electoral autarky is approaching fascism every Muslim youth will now be arrested with a PFI pamphlet under Indias black law UAPA the Hyderabad MP tweetedOwaisi said Muslims have spent decades in prison before being acquitted by the courts I have opposed UAPA and will always oppose all actions under UAPA It runs afoul the principle of liberty which is part of basic structure of the constitution he saidHe also said that everyone should remember that Congress had amended Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA to make it stringent and it supported when the BJP amended it again to make it even more draconianAlso Read Why only PFI Ban RSS too says Congress MP Kodikunnil SureshIn another tweet Owaisi asserted that this case of PFI ban would follow the timeline of case of Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan who was booked by the Uttar Pradesh government under the UAPA in 2020 while he was on his way to reach Hathras for covering the alleged gangrape and murder of a 19yearold Dalit girlThis case will follow the timeline of Kappan where any activist or journalist is randomly arrested amp takes 2 years to even get bail Owaisi saidHow come PFI is banned but organisations associated with convicts of Khaja Ajmeri bomb blasts arent Why has govt not banned right wing majoritarian organisationsOwaisis reaction followed the ban by the central government late on Tuesday declaring the PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts as an unlawful association with immediate effect for a period of five yearsPFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts operate openly as a socioeconomic educational and political organization but they have been pursuing a secret agenda to radicalize a particular section of the society working towards undermining the concept of democracy and show sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority and constitutional set up of the country the government notification had saidThe notification had said that PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts have been indulging in unlawful activities which are prejudicial to the integrity sovereignty and security of the country and have the potential to disturb public peace and communal harmony of the country and support militancy in the countryIt had further said that some of the PFIs founding members are the leaders of the Students Islamic Movement of India SIMI and PFI has linkages with JamatulMujahideen Bangladesh JMB both of which are proscribed organisationsThere had been a number of instances of international linkages of PFI with global terrorist groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ISIS the PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts have been working covertly to increase the 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 said the notificationThe development came days after the searches were conducted at 93 locations in 15 states of India in which over 100 activists of the Popular Front of India PFI were arrested