Ahmedabad: Left-Church leaning ‘activist’ Jignesh Mevani who is supported by Congress on Vadgam seat as independent candidate has received funding from the political arm of the Islamist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) for his election campaign, Times Now has reported. Mevani enjoys support of Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and controversial left-wing activists including Arundhati Roy who has sent lakhs of donation to Mevani for his electoral expenses. The Congress and the AAP are not fielding their candidates from the reserved seat to support Mevani.

The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), whose leaders met and handed over a cheque to Mewani according to Times Now, is the political wing of the PFI. PFI is a known Islamist outfit operating primarily in the southern states of India.

What is PFI

In 2009, two PFI activists had assaulted an ASP with weapons.

In July 2010, 13 PFI activists had chopped off the hand of a professor in Kerala, accusing him of blasphemy against Islam.

In March 2016, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a person called K V Abdul Jaleel in relation to what is called the Narath training camp case. Jaleel was accused of assembling 21 men in April 2013 and training them in making bombs. Amongst these 21, there were members of the PFI.

In August 2017, the Karnataka police arrested five people for the murder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker, Sharat Madivala. All five were directly or indirectly related to the PFI. In August 2016, a man named Rudresh was murdered in broad daylight in Bengaluru. In November, the police arrested the Bengaluru head of the PFI himself in connection with the murder.

PFI drew some of its cadre and leadership from the banned terror organisation, the Students Islamic Movement of India. Former Kerala chief minister, V S Achuthanandan, speaking in the Kerala assembly in 2010, had said that the PFI was aiming for ‘Islamisation of Kerala’.Several activists of the PFI have been involved in alleged cases of ‘love jihad’ in Kerala, most notably the recent Akhila (alias Hadiya) case.

– Additional inputs from SwarajyaMag