Udupi, Feb 18: To mark its eighth anniversary, the members of Popular Front of India organized a a public meeting and took out a procession titled 'Unity march' from the Old Taluk Office to the Royal Garden grounds in Udupi on Monday.
Speaking after inaugurating the event, K M Sharif, president of national unit of Popular Front of India (PFI), said that there should be equitable distribution of resources in the country.
Mr Sharif said that inequitable distribution of resources was responsible for the social imbalance in the country. The economic policies of the country had always favoured the capitalists. Despite the rule of all kinds of governments professing left, right and centrist ideologies, at the Centre, the plight of the Dalits, minorities and tribal people had not improved, he said.
Rightwing groups such as the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had encouraged communalism since 1980s. The Rath Yatra of the senior BJP leader L K Advani in 1990 was aimed at polarisation of communities to reap electoral benefits. This later led to the demolition of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya in 1992. The PFI was against the agenda of the Sangh Parivar, M. Sharif said.
He said all the patriotic Indians should join PFI's struggle for social justice and equality.
“Popular Front was formed at a time when communalism tried to hijack Indian democracy and posed existential threat to country 'minorities. Even after 50 years of independence we failed to eliminate poverty and social injustice. Country backward classes and minorities were kept way from centres of power. Majority of the citizens are still below poverty line. Demands for justice were oppressed. Muslims, being a community that paid high price for our freedom, they still hold the capacity to lead the country out of situation. Popular Front thinks the day is relevant because the politicians and parties have long forgotten their allegiance to the country or its people. Our sovereignty has been submitted before colonialists and economy is being controlled by a tiny ultra-rich minority. Popular Front Aims to create a society determined to re-establish the basic values freedom, justice and security and to work for the empowerment of marginalised backward classes,” he said.
Abubakar Saheb, former president of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), Mufti Mohammed Muazam, president of All India Imam Council, Deviprasad Shetty, president of district unit of Janata Dal (Secular), Jayan Malpe, president of district unit of Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS), and others were present.
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