PFI 'condemns' reports of organisation's financial link to instigate anti-CAA protests

The Popular Front of India (PFI) on Monday "condemned" news reports of the banned organisation's financial link to instigate protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and termed the allegations "baseless".

PFI General Secretary Mohd Ali Jinnah stated that there is a planned "vilification" campaign going on against the organisation "to stop our growth".

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) sent a note to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) mentioning that there is a direct link between the PFI and the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in Uttar Pradesh.

The ED has sent the note after correlating the dates of money deposited in bank accounts and dates of anti-CAA protests in Uttar Pradesh, ED sources told ANI.

ED's note to the Home Ministry comes after an investigation was conducted into bank accounts of PFI in some districts of western Uttar Pradesh. During the probe, ED found that a huge amount of money was transferred to bank accounts linked to the PFI.

Protests against the CAA had turned violent last year, resulting in damages to public property in several places across the state.

Earlier this month, the MHA had received a report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the activities of PFI in the state.

UP DGP OP Singh had also said that PFI was actively involved in violent protests against the CAA. He also added that some members of the party had been arrested and there was proof regarding the same.

Singh also wrote a letter to the MHA seeking a ban on the PFI for its involvement in anti-CAA protests last year.

The CAA grants Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.