Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has rebutted Union Minister of State Kiren Rijiju’s statement that Kerala had pressed the Centre for a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI).
In a statement here on Thursday, the Chief Minister said Mr. Rijiju’s statement that Kerala had pushed for a ban on the PFI and that the Central government was examining the proposal had no basis in facts as the State had not sought proscription of the PFI either at the annual meet of State Directors General of Police held in Madhya Pradesh in January or on any other occasion.
‘Not our policy’
The Chief Minister said the Kerala government did not pursue a policy of blindly outlawing communal or terrorist organisations. If any organisation were to be banned, the first to face such action should be the RSS, he added.
Mr. Vijayan said his government was taking stern measures against comunalism and terrorism, the effects of which were evident on the law and order front. During 2005-12, the State government had registered 104 cases involving NDF-PFI activists. However, between 2014 and 2017 only 14 such cases had been reported. These figures testified to Kerala’s commitment to preserving communal amity, he said.
