Assam CM asks center to ban PFI
“Assam has demanded an immediate complete ban on PFI (Popular Front of India) from the central govt, not because of the hijab issue, it"s their democratic right, but because of their direct involvement with subversive activities and radicalization,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
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Guwahati, Feb 22: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked the Centre to put “a complete ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) immediately, alleging the Islamist group's “direct involvement with subversive activities and radicalization”. The statement by Sarma comes amid the hijab controversy that started in Karnataka. However, the chief minister asserted that his stand on the PFI is “not because of the hijab issue.”
“Assam has demanded an immediate complete ban on PFI (Popular Front of India) from the central govt, not because of the hijab issue, it's their democratic right, but because of their direct involvement with subversive activities and radicalization,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
#JusticeForHarsha:🚨 Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma urges Centre to Ban PFI; 'Radicalising people'
— OSINT Updates (@OsintUpdates) February 21, 2022
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked the Centre to put “a complete ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) immediately, alleging the Islamist group's “direct involvement with subversive activities and radicalization”.
The statement by Sarma comes amid the hijab controversy that started in Karnataka. However, the chief minister asserted that his stand on the PFI is “not because of the hijab issue.”
“Assam has demanded an immediate complete ban on PFI (Popular Front of India) from the central govt, not because of the hijab issue, it's their democratic right, but because of their direct involvement with subversive activities and radicalization,” Last week, Sarma said that Muslim women do not need “hijab, but education”, while blaming the Congress party of playing “divisive politics” “How would a teacher determine if a student is learning the lectures if they’re wearing a hijab. No one said they wanted to wear a hijab three years ago," he had said.
The chief minister said there are two types of Islam – “one is religious and the other is political, and the latter is Congress sponsored”. He also questioned the emergence of the hijab as an issue in an educational institution.
Meanwhile, Sarma's call to ban the PFI comes two days after the Islamist group held public meetings in Kerala, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu over the hijab controversy.
PFI workers who attended the meeting in Rajasthan targeted the RSS and other Hindu outfits, and raised slogans such as “Hijab par hamla, nagrik adhikaro par hamla (attack on hijab is an attack on civilian rights)”, according to PTI.
On Friday, advocate general Prabhuling Navadgi, representing the state government, informed the bench that its stand is against considering the hijab an essential religious practice of Islam.
A three-judge bench of chief justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, justice JM Khazi and justice Krishna S Dixit, is hearing the matter. A batch of petitions has been lodged by some Muslim girls against the ban on wearing headscarves inside Karnataka classrooms.