No immediate proposal to ban PFI: Ramalinga Reddy

Team Udayavani, Jan 15, 2018, 8:43 AM IST

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy today said there was no immediate proposal before the government to ban Islamist outfit PFI and right wing outfits in the state. 

“There is no such immediate proposal before us (government)…lot of discussions regarding this is going on. The Chief Minister is on tour for about a month now, we will have discussion on the issue with the Chief Minister, also in the cabinet,” Reddy in Shivamogga.

His statement comes in the waks of demands to recommend for ban on Popular Front of India (PFI) and right wing organisations in the state. BJP has been demanding a ban on PFI and its political wing SDPI, holding them responsible for a spate of killings of “Hindu activists” in the coastal Dakshina Kannada district.

But the PFI has blamed Sangh Parivar outfits for the killing of those from Muslim community in the region. Noting that BJP was demanding a ban on PFI, the Home Minister said not only PFI, but Bajarang Dal, RSS and Sri Rama Sene were also involved in violence. 

“Both sides were involved. Number of deaths due to violence might be slightly more this side or that side. If it (ban) has to be done, it should be for both sides, not just one side,” he said. As the coastal region remained on edge over repeated incidents of communal tensions, Siddaramaiah had recently warned of “stringent” action against organisations instigating communal sentiments in the state.

Pointing out that power to ban any organisations lies with the Central government, Reddy said BJP should talk to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh or Prime Minister Narendra Modi and get PFI banned. He said if political leaders remain silent, there would not be any violence in the region.