A statement issued by the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) has said that the party would conduct protest marches against the arrest of Popular Front of India (PFI) leaders by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) and Enforcement Directorate (ED). VCK president and Member of Parliament, Thol Thirumavalavan in a statement on Friday, September 23, said that the Popular Front of India was a transparent social movement. The arrest of senior leaders of the PFI and the raids conducted at its offices across the country were condemnable. He added that the party will conduct protest marches against the action taken on PFI.
The VCK leader said that ever since Narendra Modi assumed office as Prime Minister, there has been a move against the Popular Front of India. He also mentioned that PFI and its political arm Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) were working for the upliftment of the poor and downtrodden in society. Thiruvamavalavan said that while most of the leaders of PFI were Muslims, non-Muslims were also part of the leadership in the organisation.
PFI and SDPI offices across the country were raided in the early hours of Thursday, September 22 in around 40 places in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Delhi and Bihar. Following the raids, protests were conducted at the sites of the raids. PFI workers protested in various parts of Tamil Nadu after the raids. A large number of PFI workers gathered outside the house of National Executive Committee members of Popular Front of India (USIP) in Nelpet area of Madurai, which was raided by NIA officials. Protests were also seen outside Chennai head office, Trichy, Coimbatore, Karaikal and Thanjavur. Similarly, protesters gathered outside the houses of the leaders who were arrested in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, demanding their release.
(With IANS inputs)
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