PFI, a bone of contention between Karnataka BJP, Congress

These parties in Karnataka have pointed the finger at each other for maintaining friendly ties with the PFI to attract Muslim voters

The Popular Front of India (PFI) made headlines on Thursday when over 100 functionaries of the organisation were arrested across 11 states in raids spearheaded by the National Investigation Agency.

The organisation — that came into being in South India in 2007 with the merger of three Muslim organisations, namely, the National Democratic Front in Kerala, the Karnataka Forum for Dignity and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu — has been linked to charges of fuelling the Anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in the country, the Delhi riots in February 2020, a purported conspiracy in the case of gang-rape and death of a Scheduled Caste woman in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, among other instances.

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The PFI describes itself as an organisation that fights for the rights of the marginalised, the minorities and the Scheduled Castes, and has often been at loggerheads with the policies of the BJP and Congress in Karnataka.

Meanwhile, these and other parties in Karnataka have pointed the finger at each other for maintaining friendly ties with the PFI to attract Muslim voters.

The organisation has been a bone of contention between the two major political parties of Karnataka for a while now. The BJP, in the past, has spoken out against the organisation, targetting the Congress for its soft stance on the entity. The Congress, too, has hit back, accusing the saffron party of being in cahoots with the organisation.

In April this year, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and BJP national president J P Nadda cited the withdrawal of cases against PFI activists during the tenure of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to suggest that the Karnataka Congress was in cahoots with the organisation.

Also Read | PFI bandh against NIA, ED raids in Kerala turns violent

Bommai alleged that the PFI was responsible for the murder of Hindu activists during Congress rule and that with the withdrawal 200 cases of PFI activists, Siddaramaiah supported this group. Hitting back, the Congress questioned the BJP for not taking strong action to ban the PFI.

In April this year, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah dared the BJP to ban the PFI. “If you have evidence that they’re causing communal disturbance, ban them. You’re in power,” he had said.