New Delhi, August 02, 2023 (PPI-OT): Two major incidents of violence in India under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states of Maharashtra and Haryana have drawn sharp reactions over hate politics systematically nurtured by Rashtriya Swayemsevak Sangh (RSS) and its various offshoots. In Maharashtra near Palghar, Chetan Kumar Singh, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable, shot dead his senior Tikaram Meena and three Muslim passengers aboard Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express train. A few video clips of the gruesome incident have gone viral on social media showing the shooter hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after the macabre act.
“They operate from Pakistan, this is what the media of the country is showing, and they have found out, they know everything, their leaders are there… If you want to vote, if you want to live in India, then I say, Modi and Yogi, these are the two, and your Thackeray’),” said the shooter Singh while bodies of Muslim men lie in a pool of blood beside his foot. The video clips have shaken the conscience of all well-meaning individuals, prominent political leaders and concerned citizens who pointed out that the violence committed by Singh is a hate-motivated act targeting Muslims. Reports claim that Meena was killed because he tried to dissuade Singh from opening fire.
Rajya Sabha MP and prominent Supreme Court lawyer Kapil Sibbal described the incident as “horrific”. “Impact of communal virus spread by news channels, statements of influential leaders and the reluctance of institutions to put a stop to it. When the genie is out of the bottle. It is difficult to put it back!” Sibal tweeted.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mahbooba Mufti slammed those claiming that the shooter was “mentally unstable”. “It is indeed a disease of ‘vicious bigotry’ whose origins lie in BJP’s laboratory. Starting from Gujarat, more recently Manipur and now spreading its tentacles throughout the country,” she tweeted.
All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi also rubbished the claim that the accused was mentally unfit. He said that if a man who says ‘If you have to live in India, you have to vote for Modi, Yogi and Thackrey’ is mentally unstable, an unknown number of people are mentally sick in the country. “If he was mentally unfit, why was he kept on duty? Leave the murder aside, I would be hanged if even an arrested pickpocket takes my name,” Owaisi’s tweet in Hindi said.
“This is a terror attack that specifically targeted Muslims. It is the product of continuous anti-Muslim hate speech and unwillingness of Narendra Modi to put an end to it. Will the accused #RPFJawan become a future BJP candidate? Will his bail be supported by the government? Will he be garlanded when released? Happy to be proven wrong,” said Owaisi in another tweet.
In the northern state of Haryana, where five persons including an imam were killed during communal violence, the BJP government was blamed for failing to maintain law and order. “What is happening in Mewat is another manifestation of what is happening in Manipur. The state has not collapsed; it is complicit. That explains the continued silence on Manipur,” tweeted Sushant Singh, writer and journalist.
Altnews fact-checker Mohammed Zubair posted videos of Hindutva leaders who were instigating their followers. Several members of the Bajrang Dal, a rabid Hindutva group, participating in a religious procession were shown openly carrying weapons with them. The clashes started when people in Nuh took out a rally to oppose self-styled cow vigilante Monu Manesar’s participation in the procession. Manesar is accused of burning two Muslims to death in Haryana’s Bhiwani.
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