Maharashtra BJP demands ban on PFI

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Saturday said that he will speak to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to ban Popular Front of India PFI which is involved in antinational work in the state and countryHis remarks came after a video surfaced on social media which shows that a Pakistan Zindabad slogan was allegedly raised during a protest organised by the PFI in PuneThe BJP chief further said that those who raised the Pakistan Zindabad slogans should be arrested under cases of seditionI will speak with the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister to ban PFI which is involved in antinational work in the state and country I will demand from the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister that wherever they are in Maharashtra find them and arrest them by filing a case of sedition against them BawankuleWith a video showing that Pakistan Zindabad slogans were allegedly raised during a PFI protest outside the District Collectors office here on Friday against the crackdown by NIAled multiagencies Pune Police have said they will probe and verify the videos and action will be taken accordinglyAlso Read Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde appoints guardian ministers of districts Dy CM Fadnavis to be in charge of several Vidarbha areasWe have received some videos we will investigate and verify them completely and take action accordingly said Sagar Patil DCP Zone II PunePakistan Zindabad slogans were heard outside the District Collectors office yesterday in Pune city where PFI cadres gathered against the recent EDCBIPolice raids across 15 statesDue to the high ambience noise in the original video feed some parts of the slogans in the video were faint Information about slogans was further corroborated by reporters at the spotSome protestors were detained by Pune police and a case was registered for unlawful assembly against protestors Police also arrested some protestorsJoint teams of the National Investigation Agency Enforcement Directorate and police had conducted multiple raids across 15 states of the country against PFI on September 22 and arrested over 106 membersReacting to the sloganeering incident Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who is also the state Home Minister said stringent action will be taken We will take stringent action against any person raising Pakistan Zindabad slogans in MaharashtraBharatiya Janata Party MLA Nitesh Rane took to Twitter and warned those raising such slogans He also sought a ban on PFIThe largestever crackdown that was conducted against the Popular Front of India PFI members spread across 15 states was codenamed Operation Octopus sources said on SaturdayThe searches were conducted in connection with five cases registered by the NIA following continued inputs and evidence that the PFI leaders and cadres were involved in the funding of terrorism and terrorist activities organising training camps for providing armed training and radicalising people to join banned organisationsA large number of criminal cases have been registered in different states over the last few years against the PFI and its leaders and members for their involvement in many violent actsCriminal violent acts carried out by PFI include chopping off the hand of a college professor coldblooded killings of persons associated with organisations espousing other faiths collection of explosives to target prominent people and places support to Islamic State and destruction of public property They have had a demonstrative effect of striking terror in the minds of the citizensThe PFI had on Friday called for a 12hour shutdown in Kerala which turned violent in parts of the state Stonepelting was witnessed at various places including at the RSS office at Mattannur in Kannur Two police officials were also injured in the incident in KollamThe Kerala High Court initiated a suo motu case against PFI leaders who called for a strike in the state against the arrest of its members by the NIAAs per a Kerala HC order on January 7 2019 nobody can call for a bandh in the state without prior notice of seven daysTaking cognizance of the matter the court directed the police to ensure that adequate measures are put in place to prevent any damagedestruction to publicprivate property of Governmentcitizens who do not support the call for hartalAdequate police protection shall also be granted to all public utility services that apprehend violence at the hands of those supporting the illegal hartal the court addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever