Assam minister alleges PFI behind violence during state anti-CAA protest

By Sujit Chakraborty

Guwahati, Feb 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) Much before the Union Ministry of Home Affairs banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 2019 on September 28, 2022 for five years, a Assam Minister revealed that the PFI orchestrated the violence during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) agitation.

The anti-CAA protests had first started in Assam, parts of West Bengal and other northeastern states in 2019 and continued till 2020 before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

At least five persons were killed in the protests against the CAA in Assam, which also witnessed large-scale violence and imposition of curfew for several days.

Assam Minister of Information and Public Relations, Pijush Hazarika, who is also the spokesman of the state government, had said that the PFI is a threat to the country, they were engaged in violent agitations against the CAA in the state.

"The PFI were fanning religious sentiments to disestablish the state and had a plan of merging Assam with Bangladesh. They should be banned permanently," the minister had said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also said, "We have seen PFI being associated with the CAA protest and in Gorukhuti in the Darrang incident".

Two persons, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed and 20 others were injured after a mob clashed with the police during an eviction drive in Assam's Darrang district on September 23, 2021.

In a major setback, the annual Japan-India summit that was scheduled to be held in Guwahati in December 2019 was postponed after the outbreak of protests against the CAA.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe were expected to participate in the mega event, in which industrialists from both countries were expected to participate.

"Led by the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro), around 150 companies were slated to visit in December (2019). However, due to the unrest, they had dropped their plans. We are again trying to bring them here," an Assam minister said.

A senior Assam Police officer said that the police have so far arrested 43 PFI and six Campus Front of India (CFI) cadres.

"These PFI leaders were arrested as there is reliable information that they were making all out efforts to foment communal strife in Assam," the police officer told IANS refusing to be named.

He said, "They were indulging in whipping up communal passions and sentiments of the religious minority by criticising every policy of the government with communal overtones which include the CAA, NRC (National Register of Citizens) and D'-Voter (doubtful voter issue), the New Education Policy, Assam's Cattle Protection Act, Teachers' Eligibility Test examinations."

He said these PFI leaders had been instigating the people against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the Agnipath scheme, eviction from encroached government lands with a view to term these actions as an attack on the Muslim community.

Giving details, the Assam Police officials said that the PFI leaders had been extensively using cyber space to provoke the people to defy the government and to divide society on religious lines and obstruct the government in the execution of its policies.

The PFI leaders, according to the police officials, are organising protests on such issues in very communally sensitive areas like Badarpur, Karimganj, Barpeta, Baksa, Kamrup (Rural), Goalpara and Kamrup (Metro) districts, the police said.

They were also trying to spread communal feelings in Muslim dominated pockets by whipping up their sentiments on the issue of communal violence, Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti that took place in Rajasthan.

In Manipur, various law enforcing agencies, led by NIA Deputy Superintendent of Police J.S. Raukela earlier raided various offices of the PFI, including their major office at Lilong in Thoubal district.

In Nagaland, Chief Secretary J. Alam referring to the Centre's notification had said that the state government has directed that the Commissioner of Police, the District Magistrates, and the Deputy Commissioners shall exercise their powers accordingly.

According to Census 2011, Muslims account for 34.22 per cent of the population in the entire state, while Hindus and other religions account for the rest of the 3.12 crore population of Assam.

Of the 126 Assembly seats, religious minorities decide the electoral fate in 23 seats, mostly in western and southern Assam and play a crucial role in about seven more assembly seats in different districts.

Of Assam's 34 districts, 12 per cent or more of the Muslim population resides in 19 districts. In six districts (out of 19 districts) the Muslim population constitutes 50 per cent or more.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in)

Source: IANS