MARGAO
Asserting that it has not cancelled the grand conference scheduled at Margao on Sunday, but has only postponed the event to an appropriate date, the Popular Front of India has demanded that the government and the Goa police lay bare before the people of Goa the reasons behind the decision of the authorities to revoke the sound and venue permission granted to the organisation.
The National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation representative Ranjan Solomon said the Director General o
f Police is accountable for his decision behind revoking the permissions, demanding to know the very same police had not only granted permission for right wing elements to hold a convention at Ponda, but the men-in-uniform did not even book those who had called for hanging of beef eaters.
The PFI has said the organisation will move a fresh application before the authorities seeking the relevant permission to hold the conference, adding that the PFI will knock the doors of the courts if the permission is denied without any reason.
At a joint media briefing here on Sunday, Popular Front of India National Executive Committee member Abdul Rahiman demanded to know the reasons behind the decision of the authorities to revoke permissions for the grand conference. "We have not cancelled the grand conference, but have only postponed the meeting. The PFI will again move the concerned authorities seeking permission," he said.
The government cannot stifle the voice of the people on a lame excuse that a handful of persons lodged their objections against the conference with threats of law and order situation. "When PFI could have similar conferences in Kerala, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, why has the government in Goa revoked the permissions when not a single case is pending against the PFI," he said, while asserting that the PFI will not succumb to any pressures.
Expressing his solidarity with the PFI, Ranjan Solomon said it was shocking to note that the authorities and the DGP revoked the permissions when three right wing people lodged a complaint against the conference. "The DGP is accountable for his actions. We are not accountable since we are functioning as per the rule of law," Solomon said, while saying there's a systematic campaign underway in the country to demonise the PFI. "The government has violated the democratic and human rights of the citizens of Goa. It is clear that the government is out to target the dissenting voices," he said, while demanding to know why the Goa government has still not acted against those who demanded hanging of beef eaters.
PFI state unit president Syed Iftiyaz called upon all peace loving people of Goa to raise their voice against communally motivated injustices and help to maintain the Goan tradition of harmony and fraternity amongst different religious communities. He demanded that the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar correct their discriminatory policy against the minority Muslim community and protect their constitutional right to freedom of expression, assembly and association.
The PFI has said the organisation will move a fresh application before the authorities seeking the relevant permission to hold the conference, adding that the PFI will knock the doors of the courts if the permission is denied without any reason.
At a joint media briefing here on Sunday, Popular Front of India National Executive Committee member Abdul Rahiman demanded to know the reasons behind the decision of the authorities to revoke permissions for the grand conference. "We have not cancelled the grand conference, but have only postponed the meeting. The PFI will again move the concerned authorities seeking permission," he said.
The government cannot stifle the voice of the people on a lame excuse that a handful of persons lodged their objections against the conference with threats of law and order situation. "When PFI could have similar conferences in Kerala, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, why has the government in Goa revoked the permissions when not a single case is pending against the PFI," he said, while asserting that the PFI will not succumb to any pressures.
Expressing his solidarity with the PFI, Ranjan Solomon said it was shocking to note that the authorities and the DGP revoked the permissions when three right wing people lodged a complaint against the conference. "The DGP is accountable for his actions. We are not accountable since we are functioning as per the rule of law," Solomon said, while saying there's a systematic campaign underway in the country to demonise the PFI. "The government has violated the democratic and human rights of the citizens of Goa. It is clear that the government is out to target the dissenting voices," he said, while demanding to know why the Goa government has still not acted against those who demanded hanging of beef eaters.
PFI state unit president Syed Iftiyaz called upon all peace loving people of Goa to raise their voice against communally motivated injustices and help to maintain the Goan tradition of harmony and fraternity amongst different religious communities. He demanded that the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar correct their discriminatory policy against the minority Muslim community and protect their constitutional right to freedom of expression, assembly and association.
