India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) President Syed Sadatullah Husaini has deplored the raids and crackdown on PFI leadership and offices by the NIA and ED. The JIH is one of the prominent socio-religious organization of Indian Muslims.
In a statement to the media, the JIH President said, “Jamaat-e-Islami Hind is highly concerned over the raids conducted by the NIA and ED on the Popular Front of India (PFI) offices and their leaders. Agencies like NIA can investigate people against whom they have clear evidence, but such actions should appear unbiased and free from political motivation.”
“Are the NIA and ED following the standard operating procedure in the raids? The way NIA and ED have made simultaneous raids across the country, targeting PFI, raises many questions for our society to answer,” the JIH leader said.
“The operation becomes suspicious, particularly in the backdrop of several actions by central government agencies against opposition groups and leaders in the last few years through various state agencies like NIA, ED, CBI, and the police. This hurts our democratic ethos and endangers the rights of citizens to criticize and appraise those in power,” Mr Husaini highlighted.
He pointed out that “the action becomes questionable also because the action is not being taken against several groups openly indulging in hate-mongering and violence and hence, these raids raise uncomfortable questions for society.”
“Are the raids meant to appease a particular constituency? If that is the case, then is it not a kind of appeasement and vote-bank politics?,” the Muslim leader questioned.
“Jamaat-e-Islami Hind deplores all such raids and actions in which people are subject to harassment in an unjust manner, irrespective of whether they belong to the opposition, the minorities, or any social class of society. If the state agencies are taking coercive action against them in a biased manner without proof and justification, then it is not healthy for a vibrant and just society. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind never endorses hate and violence and condemns it unequivocally,” Mr Husaini said.
Condemning the crackdown on the PFI members, Students Islamic Organisation of India’s (SIO) national president Mohammad Salman Ahmad, in a seaparate statement, said that the “crackdown on members of PFI is another instance of the government abusing the power of investigating agencies to clamp down on dissent and opposition.” SIO is a leading Muslim students’organization having its network all over India.
“We have seen time and again how the government has deployed draconian laws such as UAPA and agencies like NIA to curtail the freedoms of ordinary people and groups, especially those from minority and marginalized communities. We believe these raids and arrests are meant solely to criminalize dissent and to intimidate all those who dare to question the government. We appeal to all citizens who care about their freedoms to speak out against such wanton abuse of power,” said the SIO chief.
