The Popular Front of India (PFI) was denied permission by the West Bengal Police on Thursday to hold a rally against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Murshidabad district on January 5.

PFI had distributed pamphlets that requested people to attend the rally, mentioning the name of TMC MP Abu Taher Khan as one of the invitees.

However, Taher Khan said he did not have any knowledge of such rally. 

"I have no knowledge about this (PFI rally). If they have mentioned my name in their poster, I cannot do anything about it," Khan said.

On the other hand, PFI maintains that the TMC leader was to attend the rally.

"We are organizing a protest on January 5 against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Murshidabad. MP Abu Taher Khan will also be a part of the protest," PFI's Hasibul Islam said. 

This comes after the Yogi Aditynath government in Uttar Pradesh wrote to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) seeking a ban on the PFI.

Sources on Wednesday informed that the MHA has received the UP government's request for putting a ban on PFI and is likely to take legal advice before proceeding. The ministry will likely take inputs from intelligence and central government agencies, including NIA, before reviewing the past activities of PFI.

On Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh DGP requested the home department to ban the group for alleged involvement in the violence that broke out during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (ACC) in the state.

According to the letter sent by Uttar Pradesh DGP Headquarter, members of PFI were involved in the violence that erupted in several parts of the state on December 20 in wake of anti-CAA protests.

During the protests, the PFI members were active in Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Bijnor, Barabanki, Gonda, Bahraich, Varanasi, Azamgarh and Sitapur areas, said the UP Police.

Meanwhile, UP minority minister Mohsin Raza said that PFI is a part of banned Islamic group Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and is funded by Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI.

The PFI describes itself as a neo-social movement committed to empowering people to ensure justice, freedom, and security.