Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday welcomed the Union government's decision to ban the Popular Front of India (PFI) which has allegedly been involved in a series of violence and said it has come to light that the organisation was planning "something serious" in the State. "The PFI and its allied organisations were found to be involved in serious crimes. The organisation recently became active in terror funding, murders, and insulting the Constitution and disturbing the social harmony and unity of the country. It has also surfaced that the organisation was planning something serious in Maharashtra as well," the CM said. ‘’The plans of anti-social elements to undertake anti-national activities and divide the society will never succeed,” he added.
On the other hand, DCM Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home department, claimed that the PFI was a silent killer. ‘’PFI was hatching a lot to create violence in the country. This organization had created a financial mechanism to do wrong in the country. It used to open a large number of bank accounts and deposit small amounts of money in these accounts so that no one gets suspicious. The state governments will soon issue a notification imposing a ban on PFI. The action will be taken against PFI and six related organisations,’’ he added.
Fadnavis said that after the ban on SIMI, some people have come together to form an organization like PFI. He credited the army and intelligence agencies to detect the activities of anti-national elements like PFI.
He recalled that in the northeastern part of the country, there was intense agitation and vandalism following the false propaganda about the demolition of mosques in the state. Fadnavis has informed that similar acts were being done by PFI.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena deputy leader and former Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar hailed the Centre’s decision to ban PFI saying anti-national activities should not be tolerated
Fadnavis on demands of banning RSS
On Kerala Congress MP K Suresh’s demand to ban RSS, DCM Devendra Fadnavis reacted sharply saying that ‘’There are many people who will talk like a fool. Law and constitution exist in this country. Evidence is needed to ban any organisation.
‘’Did they find that RSS has acted like PFI in BJP-ruled or other states?’’ asked Fadnavis. Fadnavis. He recalled that the previous Congress and Communist governments in Kerala had also demanded a ban on the RSS.
