Never said PFI and Congress are same: Amit Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said in an apparent explanation that he never equated Congress party to the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI).

In an interview with ANI, Shah was asked about his statement in Karnataka on Saturday where he allegedly said that the Congress and PFI were the same.

‘I never said that PFI and Congress are the same. PFI had several cases on them and Congress tried to withdraw cases against PFI members. We only tried to stop it. What is there to feel bad about in it?”, he said.

“We have successfully banned PFI. I believe that PFI is spreading conversion and radicalism. They were trying to prepare raw materials for terrorism. We have so many documents that verify that the activities being carried out by the PFI were not good for the unity of the country,” Shah said.

The Home Minister added that they successfully banned the organization rising above the vote-bank politics.

Amit Shah on Saturday inaugurated the golden jubilee of the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Co-operative (CAMPCO) in Karnataka where he targeted the Congress and accusing it of releasing 1700 PFI members when it came to power in the state.

During his visit to Karnataka last week, Amit Shah targeted the Congress and accused it of releasing PFI members.

‘Congress party strengthens anti-national elements, and it can never protect Karnataka,’ Shah had said during his visit to the coastal region of poll-bound Karnataka.

The government in September last year banned PFI and its associates for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for "terror links".

Along with PFI, the government had also banned its fronts, including Rehab India Foundation (RIF). Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women's Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala.