Prime minister Narendra Modi defends the state while saying the incident has pained him
Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Pic/PTI
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday broke his silence on lynching of a Muslim youth in Jharkhand, saying it has pained him and the guilty must be severely punished, but stressed that all incidents of violence in the country, whether in Jharkhand, West Bengal or Kerala, should be treated the same and law should take its course.
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He was replying to the debate on Motion of Thanks to President's address in Rajya Sabha. Modi, who received flak from the opposition over his 'silence' on the lynching incident in BJP-ruled Jharkhand, said "security of every citizen is our constitutional duty". "The lynching in Jharkhand has pained me. It has saddened others too. Guilty should get severest punishment but for this the entire state has been pronounced guilty and everyone put in dock, which is not right," he said.
A Muslim youth, accused of stealing a bike, was beaten up by a mob and a video showed that he was purportedly made to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Hanuman' in the Saraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. He later died.
Modi said some people in RS are calling Jharkhand a hub of lynching. "Is this fair? Why are they insulting a state." "None of us have the right to insult Jharkhand," he said and referred to violence in states ruled by opposition parties. "All kinds of violence whether in Jharkhand or West Bengal or Kerala should be treated as same and law should take its course," he said.
Modi, who had targeted the Congress during his reply in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, accused the opposition party of heaping "insults" on the people of the country by calling their decision to give a thumping majority to the BJP as "a defeat of the country, democracy and farmers".
Congress leaders, he said, are saying farmers were sold out to Rs 2,000 cash dole and the elections were won with the help of media. "This is an insult to farmers. A farmer is not available for sale. Farmers cannot be insulted. The use of language that they were sold for Rs 2,000 is an insult to 15 crore farmers," he said.
Countering the Opposition charge of media bias during polls, he said, "Is media on sale. Was it on sale in Tamil Nadu and Kerala (where Congress and its allies won)." He also took Congress to task for its "clamour for credit" saying why it was not doing so in case of NRC as it was first agreed to by the then PM Rajiv Gandhi in the Assam Accord. NRC is not a vote bank issue for this government. It is an issue of national security, he said, adding the move to list citizens and identify outsiders was done on the orders of the Supreme Court.
Cong insulted voters by questioning BJP's massive victory: PM
PM Modi on Wednesday accused the Congress of insulting voters of the country by questioning BJP's massive victory of in the LS polls. "After such a big mandate, you say you (BJP) have won, but the country has lost... If Congress loses, does the nation get defeated. Does Congress mean the country and country means Congress. There is a limit of arrogance," Modi said. He said that by using such language the Congress has hurt voters of the country.
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