PFI-SDPI growth in Kerala facilitated by mainstream parties, political observers say

The crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI) by National Investigation Agency (NIA) comes at a time when the organisation, as well as its political affiliate Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), were enhancing its presence in Kerala.

The dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the PFI in protest of the raids conducted by NIA, and subsequent arrests of its top leaders, brings to fore the influence it has in Kerala politics. It is also being said that its popularity in the state has risen largely due to the overt and covert support of mainstream political parties—the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front and the Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front.

Even as they are allegedly involved in around 40 political murders, over 100 other communal cases—including the chopping of a professor’s hand—and recruitment to extremist outfits, PFI and SDPI are also trying to earn goodwill by actively getting involved in relief activities.

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PFI-SDPI workers have been known to mark their presence at all disaster spots—be it natural calamities or pandemics like Covid-19—wearing t-shirts emblazoned with ‘PFI-SDPI’ tags and supplying relief materials.

State government not unaware

It’s not that the state’s political leadership is unaware of these outfits’ communal and extremist activities; in 2012, the state government had given an affidavit in the High Court listing out PFI’s killings and communal cases.

However, successive CPM and Congress governments hardly initiated stringent actions, allegedly for electoral gains.

PFI-SDPI now have strong influence in various pockets of the state—and CPM and the Congress, both, have used these outfits’ influence to gain power at local civic bodies there.

“The SDPI’s main political agenda in Kerala was to ensure Bharatiya Janata Party’s defeat. While they supported Congress’s coalition partner Indian Union Muslim League at Majeshwar to win against BJP, they also supported the Left-front candidates at couple of seats in Thiruvananthapuram for the same reason,” said political commentator M N Karasserry.

CPM, Congress equally at fault

According to him, it was a fact that both the CPM and Congress were equally responsible for the growth of PFI-SDPI in Kerala.

And, except for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi replying to a question during his press conference in Kerala on Thursday, no other leaders of either party have reacted on the matter.

“It is obviously a sensitive matter. Even when the communal activities of PFI could not be justified at all, the policy of the BJP-RSS government at the Centre leaves room for doubts over the intentions of the crackdown on PFI. Recent instances, including the arrest of journalist Siddique Kappan, show that. Hence the CPM would be taking a very cautious stand on the matter after discussions,” a senior CPM leader, who preferred not to be named, says.

Outfits’ names change, but people remain same

According to Karasserry, the ongoing NIA action against PFI can become counterproductive, as these outfits can very well ask why no similar action is being taken against Hindu communal outfits.

Amidst reports that the Centre may ban PFI, a former IPS officer said it was not the organisation that matters, but the people involved in it. When Students’ Islamic Movement of India was banned, the same people formed the National Development Front, which later became the Popular Front of India by joining hands with similar outfits like Manitha Neethi Pasarai and Karnataka Forum for Dignity. Hence stringent action needs to be taken against the people involved in all forms of extremism, the officer said.