Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that incidents such as lynchings and atrocities against minorities and Dalits are part of a conspiracy to take the discourse away from the government’s development agenda.
Earlier in the day, the issue of cow vigilantism triggered protests during question hour in the House by Opposition members, who accused the government of not taking any concrete counter measures and sought to hold the BJP and organisations linked to it, responsible for such incidents.
The government said law and order was a State subject and that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not keep a separate record of such incidents. However, it had issued an advisory to the State governments for necessary legal action, which was being taken in all the cases.
On a query from Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, whether the government would amend the IPC and the Cr.PC to specifically address such crimes, Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir said there was no such need.
When Mr. Ahir shared details of the police action against cow vigilantes, collated from various States, Samajwadi Party’s Naresh Agarwal complained that it was breach of privilege, saying the government had earlier stated that NCRB did not maintain data specifically under the “cow vigilantism” head. He also asked if the government planned to bring in a law to address the issue.
The Minister of State also submitted in the House that the government was ready to approve investigations by central agencies if there was any such recommendation from the State governments concerned.
However, not satisfied with the Minister’s response, Opposition members trooped into the well of the House to lodge their protest, which resulted in a brief adjournment of proceedings.
Congress parliamentarian Anand Sharma later said that the reply of the Minister of State for Home Affairs is not enough on such a serious issue which has tarnished the country’s global image and has also affected the economy.
