On Tuesday (2nd April), Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on the Congress party for not turning down the support extended by SDPI, the political wing of banned Islamist terror outfit PFI, to Congress-led UDF in Kerala. Notably, the Congress party had earlier demanded to ban SDPI under UAPA, only to seek its support during the Karnataka assembly elections.
During his roadshow in Ramanagara, Karnataka, Home Minister Amit Shah said, “On one hand there are blasts in Bengaluru, on the other hand, I just got the news that SDPI has supported Congress. If this is true then can the people of Karnataka remain safe under the Congress government?…”
Amit Shah’s remark come amidst the findings that Congress had withdrawn cases against 1600 PFI terrorists and allied with SDPI earlier.
#WATCH | Karnataka: During his roadshow in Ramanagara, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "On one hand there are blasts in Bengaluru, on the other hand, I just got the news that SDPI has supported Congress. If this is true then can the people of Karnataka remain safe under the… pic.twitter.com/zLJFQDTIZN
— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2024
Amit Shah slammed Congress stating that the party has been supporting anti-India campaigns by getting support from communal forces. He added that with such developments it has revealed that it doesn’t believe in India’s sovereignty.
Speaking with CNN-News18 during his roadshow in Ramanagara, Karnataka, Shah said, “I am not shocked to see that SDPI is supporting Congress. With the support of communal forces, Congress has been supporting anti-India campaigns for several years. Support from SDPI means that you don’t believe in India’s sovereignty.”
#JustIn: Union Home Minister Amit Shah (@AmitShah) speaks exclusively to CNN-News18's @harishupadhya
— News18 (@CNNnews18) April 2, 2024
"We will win all 28 seats in Karnataka. I'm not shocked to see that SDPI is supporting Cong. Congress has always practiced appeasement politics"#TheHardFacts @RShivshankar pic.twitter.com/V7YoD6tlgb
The Home Ministry had banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) and several associated Islamist organisations under UAPA for five years due to various criminal cases, including findings that several PFI members had joined international terrorist organisations. SDPI is the political wing of the banned outfit PFI. Security experts have repeatedly noted that members of banned terror outfits carry out terror acts by renaming their groups or joining other outfits, prompting Parliament to individually book terrorists under UAPA.
A day earlier, the SDPI announced that it will be supporting the Congress-led UDF in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. SDPI state President Muvattupuzha Ashraf Moulavi stated that the party has not fielded any candidates in Kerala but has 18 candidates in various parts of the country.
Despite facing massive criticism, the Congress party declined to reject the support of the banned outfit PFI’s political arm, SDPI.
AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal claimed that the Congress party never sought any help from the SDPI and no discussion has happened in this regard, indicating that the party was not against getting support from the extremist outfit. Venugopal is also contesting the Lok Sabha polls from the Alappuzha constituency in Kerala.
#WATCH | Kerala BJP chief and candidate from Wayanad, K Surendran says, "Yes, really shocking – the dangerous political move by the Congress party, especially Rahul Gandhi and the UDF leaders from Kerala. PFI's – the banned terror organisation – political outfit SDPI is openly… pic.twitter.com/567GdgPYLU
— ANI (@ANI) April 2, 2024
Following SDPI’s announcement, the BJP has been asking Congress to clear its stance on whether it has no problem in getting support from terror out of PFI’s political arm.
Kerala BJP chief and candidate from Wayanad, K Surendran is contesting against Congress scion Rahul Gandhi. He said, “Yes, really shocking – the dangerous political move by the Congress party, especially Rahul Gandhi and the UDF leaders from Kerala. PFI’s – the banned terror organisation – political outfit SDPI is openly supporting the Congress party, the UDF candidates… I would like to ask Rahul Gandhi if this is his national-level policy. For the vote bank, you are compromising the national interests…Is it right?…”
In the past, Rahul Gandhi had once courted controversy for giving clean chit to its ally in Kerala, IUML, stating that it is a completely secular party.
