Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that lynching incidents were not new.
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Mr. Singh claimed — as he had done during the debate on the no-confidence motion on Friday — that the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and elsewhere were the biggest instances of lynching, provoking angry reactions from the Congress benches.
CPI (M)’s Mohammad Salim earlier said the government should have taken steps when some eminent people returned awards after Akhlaq’s killing, instead of waiting till the Supreme Court asked for steps. He also said little else could be expected when a Union Minister garlanded those accused of lynching, hinting at the alleged action of Jayant Sinha.
TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay also expressed concern and demanded “exemplary action.”
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He said the Centre should talk to the States about this, even if law and order is a State subject.