PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s latest comment calling for a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) is “immature”, the organisation’s state president Shaikh Abdul Rauf said on Saturday, while also accusing the BJP of trying to impose a ban on any organisation which dares to critique the ruling party’s policies.
Rauf’s comment comes on a day when Chief Minister Pramod Sawant while speaking to reporters in Mumbai had called for a ban on the organisation, which is currently at loggerheads with him.
“PFI’s statement over my anti-conversion remark was irrelevant as there’ll be opposition to the increasing conversion cases in Goa. We’ll never promote religious conversions in the state. PFI should be banned. We’ll recommend to the Government of India to stop them,” Sawant told ANI in Mumbai, while also insisting that his government will look to ensure that no religious conversion takes place in the coastal state.
On Saturday however, the Goa unit of the PFI hit out at the Chief Minister, describing his comments as immature, with its president also saying that the organisation does not feel the need to clarify its position.
“We have not thought about meeting the CM so far to speak about this. The statement is immature, we do not find it necessary to clarify it,” Rauf said.
The PFI official also said that he condemns the Chief Minister’s statement calling for a ban on the organisation, claiming that the BJP tries to ban outfits which are critical of its policy.
“First of all the PFI Goa unit condemns the statement. Hindustan is a democratic country and everyone has a democratic right to have their say. If a government policy is wrong, then I have the right to condemn the policy or statement. In the same spirit, we had condemned the statement made by the Chief Minister regarding religious conversions,” he said.
“Whenever we comment on the policies of the BJP government, they immediately react by calling for a ban or declare us terrorist a organisation,” he added.
On April 20, soon after the chaos between two religious groups during Ram Navami celebrations in Vasco, the PFI had slammed the Chief Minister’s comment on religious conversions in Goa.
“We hope that the CM combats inflation. Where has the price of fuel, cylinder, dal and rice reached? We are in an economic crisis. After two-three years of Covid many of our youngsters are without jobs. Many industries are shut down. Instead of focussing on this (inflation), he rake up conversion issue to please his bosses in Nagpur. We urge the people of Goa not to give attention to the CM’s statement and focus on the issues facing common people,” Rauf had said then.
Commenting on the ongoing azaan controversy, Rauf said that it was common practice in Goa for decades, adding that in recent times some elements were trying to vitiate religious harmony in the state.
“Azaan is something which lasts only for two minutes. It is about calling people to prayer. The message it sends is to come and pray. In 60 years of Goa’s culture or even earlier, whether it is azan or any religious festival, there was no objection. Just one per cent of the elements are vitiating the harmony,” he said.
