Stern message to the hotheads across parties
President Pranab Mukherjee's emphasis on upholding our civilisational values of “diversity”, “tolerance” and “plurality” is a timely message for hotheads across the political and social spectrum. As the country grapples with the fact that a man was brutally murdered because of a vicious rumour, a message such as this from the First Citizen helps bring some perspective and reminds us for our priorities. Though the President did not specifically refer to the Dadri killing, and his comment was generally in keeping with his earlier remarks on communal harmony, his Wednesday speech is being viewed in relation to the current developments. Apart from the mob attack in Dadri, there was another attack in Kanpur recently wherein a Muslim man was lynched on suspicions of being a Pakistani terrorist. Before that, three men were lynched to death, also in Uttar Pradesh, when they were caught stealing cattle. A toxic combination of vote-bank politics, and pseudo-secularism has so damaged the social fabric in some regions that even the slightest provocation can spark a bloody riot. It was also in this context that Vice President Hamid Ansari had commented earlier this month on the ‘Right to live' of every citizen, and every individual's responsibility to protect his neighbours. like Mr Mukherjee, he too spoke of India's long tradition of communal harmony.
In keeping with pronouncements of the country's political elders, veteran leaders from the establishment have also the come out against the Dadri killing. Indeed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unequivocally endorsed the President's appeal and said the fight should be against poverty. Union Minister for Home Affairs Rajnath Singh and Union Minister for Finance Arun Jaitley too have condemned the attack. low-level leaders from the ruling party, who sought to milk the incident for some political brownie points, have been taken to task. Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi confirmed that certain party leaders, who made objectionable statements that diverted the focus from law and order to religion and politics, have been firmly told to exercise caution.
Unfortunately, senior Opposition leaders have been adding fuel to fire by making irresponsible statements. At the top of the list is RJD chief lalu Prasad, who argued that many Hindus also eat beef. Apart from the fact that this offended many more Hindus who consider the cow to be sacred and do not eat cow meat, it was an utterly irrelevant comment. Similar remarks came from some Samajwadi Party members and leaders of other political parties. There was never any justification for the mob attack. Yet, instead of highlighting the primary factors that created a situation, wherein a group of men could just barge into a man's home and murder him, the veteran leader from Bihar went to town with the beef issue because that is what served his political interests. later, when the situation became too hot to handle, he backtracked and blamed it on the shaitan that had entered his being. Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan, never one to be left out of a situation that offers communal colours, also sought his own 15 minutes of Dadri fame. The list is, unfortunately, long.