Dadri lynching: Kiren Rijiju backs Modi, says 'law and order a state subject'
New Delhi: Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion that the Centre has had no role in the Dadri lynching incident or even the cancellation of proposed musical programme of Pakistani Ghazal singer Ghulam Ali.
"The law and order is a state subject. When we feel that an incident is serious, we seek a report from the state government and accordingly issue an advisory. But, to indict the Centre for incidents taking place in a state is wrong, Prime Minister Modi has said the correct thing," said Rijiju.
Prime Minister Modi has said that he or his party BJP does not support incidents like the lynching of Mohd. Akhlaq at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh on beef rumours or even the cancellation of proposed musical programme of Ghulam Ali.
The Prime Minister told a Bengali daily that the murder of a Muslim man in Dadri over rumours of eating beef and the opposition to Pakistani singer Ghulam concert is “undesirable and unfortunate.” He further blamed the opposition for trying to use these sad incidents and indulging in politics of polarisation.
Modi had said, “The incident in Dadri or incidents of opposition to Pakistani musicians are something that cause sadness and are unwanted. But what is the Centre’s role in these incidents?”
He also said that the Bharatiya Janata Party has never supported such incidents.
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Meanwhile, author Shashi Deshpande on Wednesday said that PM’s comment on the Dadri lynching incident were “far too weak.”
The eminent author who resigned from the general council of the Sahitya Akademi expressing “disappointment” over PM’s silence on Kannada author Kalburgi’s murder, said that Modi has used a very weak word “unfortunate” to term the lynching incident.
“Unfortunate is a very weak term and the leader of the country should be morally responsible for whatever is happening in your country. People have elected you and a few words from the leader of the country makes a lot of difference,” Deshpande said.
The 77-year-old writer said, “I don’t agree with him when he says BJP has always opposed pseudo secularism.”
Deshpande, author of several novels, short stories and essay collections and books for children, had won the Sahitya Akademi award for her novel “That Long Silence” in 1990. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009.
Deshpande said she would not be returning her award as was done by a barrage of writers including Nayantara Sahgal, Sara Joseph, Ashok Vajpeyi and Uday Prakash, stating that she “did not believe in handing back an award that was given to her by a body of writers.”
The author also welcomed the decision of the Akademi to hold a Executive Board meeting on October 23.
“Hopefully they can all sit down and define their roles in a better manner and it can be an occasion to relook at the decisions and be involved with crucial issues that affect writers freedom to speak and write,” Deshpande said.
Over 20 writers, poets, playwrights and translators have so far returned their Sahitya Akademi award with Punjabi writer Dalip Kaur Tiwana handing over her Padma Shri award against the “rising intolerance” in the country.
