India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—Strongly condemning the Enforcement Directorate’s raids on the offices of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the residence of their leaders last Wednesday, the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has said that “the timings of the raids raise a suspicion that it has been orchestrated to divert attention of the public from ongoing farmers’ agitation”.
Stating that the “raids on PFI offices amount to violation of the standard operating procedure of the department”, JIH Vice-President Prof. Mohammad Salim Engineer alleged that “the government is misusing the agencies in an undemocratic manner to silence the dissenting voices”.
“It is disappointing to see agencies like the ED being misused to create an atmosphere of fear and to silence the voices of dissent”, he alleged.
The JIH leader said that “this undemocratic action is being carried out against individuals, groups and NGOs who disagree and criticize the policies of the government”.
Pointing out that “the recent raids of the ED on the offices of the PFI throughout the country are highly condemnable”, he advised the government “to desist from such vindictive actions which would add to the trust-deficit between the government and the community”.
Expressing concern over the raids, he said, “The government is being increasingly seen as anti-citizen. The government’s attitude towards various organisations and individuals is very much detrimental to the spirit of the Constitution”.
