HYDERABAD — All India Majlise Ittehdul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday said that the Centre’s ban on Popular Front of India (PFI) cannot be supported and asked the government why has it not banned right-wing majoritarian organisations.
The Hyderabad MP said while he has always opposed PFI’s approach and supported democratic approach, this ban on PFI cannot be supported.
The AIMIM president believes that a draconian ban of this kind is dangerous as it is a ban on any Muslim who wishes to speak his mind. “The way India’s electoral autarky is approaching fascism, every Muslim youth will now be arrested with a PFI pamphlet under India’s black law, UAPA,” tweeted Owaisi.
How come PFI is banned but organisations associated with convicts of Khaja Ajmeri bomb blasts aren’t? Why has govt not banned right wing majoritarian organisations?,” he asked.
He said actions of some individuals who commit crime does not mean that the organisation itself must be banned. He pointed out that the Supreme Court has also held that mere association with an organisation is not enough to convict someone.
“Muslims have spent decades in prison before being acquitted by courts. I have opposed UAPA & will always oppose all actions under UAPA. It runs afoul the principle of liberty, which is part of basic structure of the constitution,” he wrote.
“We should remember that Congress amended UAPA to make it stringent & when BJP amended the law to make it even more draconian, Congress supported it. This case will follow timeline of Kappan, where any activist or journalist is randomly arrested & takes 2 years to even get bail,” he added. — IANS
