On Friday, in Pune, it was reported that ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans were raised during a Popular Front of India (PFI) protest march. The protest followed the arrest of more than 100 members of the radical Islamic organisation across the country. Now Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s chief Raj Thackeray has commented on the controversy asking such people to go to Pakistan.
The MNS chief shared his comments on the matter via his Twitter account. He said, “If slogans such as ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ ‘ Allahu Akbar’ are going to be proclaimed in our Pune city, then our country’s Hindus are not going to keep quiet.”
If slogans such as ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ ‘ Allahu Akbar’ are going to be proclaimed in our Pune city, then our country’s Hindus are not going to keep quiet.
— Raj Thackeray (@RajThackeray) September 24, 2022
Rather, it’s better to urgently put an end to this disease of anti-national elements.@AmitShah @Dev_Fadnavis pic.twitter.com/pdpqZQFBqc
In his attached statement, Thackeray said, “Few functionaries of the radical Popular Front of India (PFI) were arrested and soon after public proclamations were made by them saying ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ ‘Allahu Akbar’. The government should immediately put a stop to such activities.”
Talking about the arrest of the PFI members, Thackeray further added, “Why were they arrested? The reason being, they are funding terror activities in the country. This is such a serious issue, in short this is anti-national activity.”
Taking a strong stand against such slogans, Thackeray said, “Whilst the arrests were being made, these functionaries were shouting slogans about their religion and reminiscing about Pakistan; if such is their mental state, then take your religion and go to Pakistan. This kind of drama is not going to be allowed in our country.”
Thackeray also urged the central and state home ministers to take strict action against such elements else there could be unrest in the country during the upcoming festive period.
Over 100 PFI members arrested by NIA in a nationwide crackdown
On the intervening night of September 21 and September 22, National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted several raids on locations linked to the Islamist organization Popular Front of India (PFI) across 10 states, including Bihar, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana.
The agency arrested around 100 cadres, including top leaders of the organization. As per reports, the raids were conducted by joint teams of NIA, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and respective State Police, and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs was monitoring the action against the organization.
PFI members took to the streets in as many as 8 states to protest against the action by the NIA and Enforcement Directorate.
