Two days after a mob killed a 50-year-old man over rumours of storing and consuming beef at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, near New Delhi, various political parties on Wednesday condemned the incident. They also expressed concern over where the country was heading.
Without taking the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress lashed out at him, saying: “The silence at the top, the silence from India’s greatest orator who can have an effect or a counter effect on such despicable tendencies, that silence is absolutely stunning.”
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the incident would certainly leave a blot on Mr. Modi’s recent U.S. trip since it occurred a few miles away from the national capital.
“All this great talk about India optics, Digital India, [Mark] Zuckerberg, Google, FDI, Facebook, all this gets nullified when the world reads about this lynching,” said Mr. Singhvi.
Hate campaigns by Hindutva outfits have created a climate of violence, he said.
“The question is why this climate is growing so innumerably, immeasurably in less than 15 months [since the BJP came to power].”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too condemned the killing. The CPI(M) said the incident was the outcome of a sustained communal campaign regarding cow slaughter and against beef consumption. “
Responding to the criticism, BJP’s Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma expressed sadness over the incident. “In that area there were incidents of animal theft and animal slaughter,” Mr. Sharma said.
“This incident happened because of misunderstanding. It should not have happened. None should take law into their own hands, and law should protect the family. I have spoken to police officials and have been in touch with residents of the area. We organised a meeting of both communities and village elders are trying to cool tempers.”
