MARGAO
The Goa State Executive Council of the Popular Front of Goa has condemned the nationwide raids by the NIA & ED, claiming it to be an unjust arrest and the harassment of its national and state leaders, across India.
Terming the raids as a witch hunt against the members and supporters of the organisation, PFI Goa unit chief Sheikh Abdul Rauf said it is no secret that the current government is using various law enforcement authorities to curb the political opposition across the country. “The way BJP has finished the opposition in Goa, likewise the recent crackdown on the PFI has shown how desperate the government has become to silence any form of criticism,” he said.
He added: “It has become evident that in the contemporary socio-political ecosystem, PFI has emerged as the only resilient opposition against the divisive ideology of the RSS and the BJP.”
He said the PFI will never be intimidated by such scare tactics by a totalitarian regime that uses the central agents as its puppets. “Statistics show that 90 per cent of cases filed by the NIA and other agencies against people have failed the test of law in the courts. The government is using the NIA officials to suppress the opponents,” he charged.
Saying that the PFI has been active in the State of Goa for the last 12 years, he said the organisation had worked tirelessly during the Covid-19 pandemic by carrying out the last rites of the dead, irrespective of caste and creed.
On the presence of Bangladeshi nationals in the country and Goa, the PFI members said the government agencies should proceed against the illegal Bangladeshis as per the law in force. PFI leaders said the government is targeting the organisation since the organisation has adopted the anti-fascist stand in the country, adding “because of our consistent stand against fascist forces, our voice is sought to be silenced”.
