Banning PFI: Government double standard exposed

Arjun Raghunath
The New Indian Express
8 Sep 2010

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Government seems to be maintaining a double standard on the issue of banning the Popular Front of India (PFI) despite the strong stand it had taken earlier in banning the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The Government is shying away from recommending a ban on PFI citing technical reasons.
In the case of the PFI, the State Government has taken a safe stand by neither opposing a ban nor favouring it and passing the buck to the Centre. However, in the case of SIMI, the State Government had taken a stand that SIMI should be banned.
While the High Court sought the opinion of the State Government on a petition seeking a ban on PFI, the State Government had merely mentioned the cases involving the PFI activists as well as their other suspected activities.
The Government also stated that the right to ban an organisation is vested with the Centre and hence it is for the Centre to take a decision.
In May, during a sitting of the single-bench tribunal appointed by the Centre to review the ban on SIMI, the then IG (Internal Security) T.K.Vinod Kumar had submitted an affidavit stating that the ban on SIMI should continue. The State Government had maintained the same stance during the previous years also.
“It is true that the Government had recommended a ban on SIMI whereas it is quite silent on whether to ban PFI or not. It all depends on the Government’s policies,” said a senior police officer.
The State Government maintained in the High Court that the links of Popular Front of India with extremist outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba is being probed by the State police. It was also stated that the police obtained information suspecting that LeT operative Tadiyantavide Nazir had stayed at the PFI’s Ernakulam district office.
In the case of SIMI, the affidavit filed by the Government before the tribunal said that the ban on SIMI should continue as SIMI activists were continuing extremist activities by floating other organisations.