The Centre on Monday accused the Opposition of using the lynching by cow vigilantes to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As Minister of State for Home Kiran Rijiju was replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on mob lynching by the so-called cow protectors, Congress staged a walkout saying it was dissatisfied with the Centre’s response.
Rijiju quoted statistics to suggest that incidents of mob lynching, atrocities against dalits and communal violence were taking place in larger numbers in the Opposition-ruled states. He said the Centre cannot take responsibility if the states fail to govern, though the home ministry has been directing the states to act against offenders. “If the allegation raised by you (Opposition) had any substance, the BJP would not have won polls,” Rijiju said.
He responded to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge’s question on the specific action against mob justice by reading out arrests made in BJP-ruled states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra to show that the government is serious about such violations.
Rijiju accused the Opposition of double standards by keeping silent on incidents taking place in the states they rule.
He admitted that “a trend on atrocities against Dalits was continuing irrespective of parties in power” citing the example of Uttar Pradesh that witnessed most such incidents before the Yogi government assumed office.
Published 31 July 2017, 06:45 IST