BJP, MNS protest against PFI for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans in Maharashtra
The Hindu
They demanded that sedition charges be lodged against them and the outfit be banned
After a video showing Popular Front of India (PFI) activists allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans in Pune went viral, protests erupted in the city and parts of Maharashtra on Sunday with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Yuva Sena (the youth wing of the Shiv Sena) all demanding that sedition charges be lodged against them and the outfit banned.
Members of the PFI had demonstrated in Pune city on Friday following the nationwide crackdown on the outfit by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other agencies including the Maharashtra ATS, which have charged the PFI for being involved in terror funding and recruitment. Alleged pro-Pakistan slogans were raised during this demonstration.
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Maharashtra Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Legislative Assembly and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar said that if the allegations were true, then he would urge Maharashtra Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to immediately crack down on such persons of a seditious disposition.
“If this [raising of pro-Pakistan slogans by PFI members] has indeed happened, then it is most shameful and must be nipped in the bud. A thorough probe must be ordered by the government to find who the masterminds are. Immediate action must be taken against those who dare to raise such slogans whilst staying in India,” said Mr. Pawar, speaking in Baramati.
Earlier today, the city unit of the BJP, along with representatives of eleven other outfits including Sangh Parivar affiliates — the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal — met the Pune Commissioner of Police Amitabh Gupta to demand that the PFI members allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans be immediately booked for sedition.
According to BJP leader Jagdish Mulik, around 60 PFI activists had staged an “illegal protest” outside the Pune Collector’s office on Friday while raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans.
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