On September 25, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) vice president Shivanand Tiwari defended the Popular Front of India and said that ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans raised during a protest in favour of PFI were only a “sign of protest.” Tiwari’s comments came after over a hundred PFI activists were arrested in several states in a nationwide operation on Thursday, after which PFI workers had chanted Pakistan Zindabad slogans in Pune during a protest against the arrests.
News Agency ANI quoted him saying, “Pakistan zindabad slogan is a sign of protest, this doesn’t mean that they are Pakistanis or they want to go to Pakistan. This is a way to express that they are not supporting the government as their ministers are making controversial statements, this is why they are protesting.”
Patna, Bihar | Pakistan zindabad slogans are just a part of a protest but that doesn’t mean those raising such slogans become Pakistani & will go to Pakistan: RJD leader Shivanand Tiwari on ‘Pakistan zindabad’ slogans heard during PFI protest in Pune pic.twitter.com/w5tEN8Yq7n
— ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2022
He added, “What is the condition of the country today? The Government of India has issued an advisory that people going to Canada should be careful that there is a hate campaign going on against Indians. In America and England, hatred towards Indians is being expressed a thousand times more. Because of the hate campaign you are running within the country, the Indians have to suffer in foreign countries”.
His remarks came during the time when National Investigation Agency (NIA) launched a pan-India crackdown on the Islamist organization allegedly supporting terror activities in the country. Reportedly, PFI members held demonstrations and protests across 15 states to mark their aggression over the raids on locations linked to PFI.
As per reports, ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans were raised during one such protest in Pune City, Maharashtra, outside the office of the District Collector. More than 60 people were booked and around 40 were arrested for unauthorised gathering. As a response to the slogans, Bharatiya Janata Party demanded a ban on the organization. MLA Nitesh Rana also issued a warning to PFI members against raising such slogans.
JDU has distanced itself from the RJD leader’s statement. State President Umesh Kushwaha said, “Though I have not heard the statement if he has said anything like that, it is completely wrong.”
पटना : शिवानंद तिवारी के पाकिस्तान और PFI के बयान से जेडीयू के प्रदेश अध्यक्ष उमेश कुशवाहा ने किया किनारा। सुनिए क्या कहा।@Jduonline #bihar #biharnews #JDU pic.twitter.com/Y8RumLjL45
— NBT Bihar (@NBTBihar) September 25, 2022
PFI crackdown by NIA
On September 22, it was reported that NIA raided PFI-linked locations in 15 states. Codenamed ‘Operation Octopus’ included multi-agency teams of NIA and ED. Around 106 members of PFI were arrested during raids at 93 locations spread over 15 states that are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal, Bihar, and Manipur.
The raids were conducted over the allegations against PFI that the organization supports terror activities in the country. Following the raids, PFI officials condemned the raids and called the arrests’ unjust’. They claimed the accusations laid down by NIA were baseless and were aimed to create “an atmosphere of terror.”
Notably, last year in April, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Supreme Court that the Union Government was in the process to ban the radical Islamist organization.
