Rajnath passes 'mobocracy' buck to states, Oppn walks out of Parliament

New Delhi: Congress lawmakers have staged a walkout from the Lok Sabha, protesting against Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's statement on mob lynching.

Condemning instances of mob violence and lynching, Rajnath Singh, on Thursday said the onus lies on state governments to ensure they aren't repeated in future.

The Union minister blamed the spread of fake news through social media for the lynchings.

“The lynching incidents happened in the past as well. I condemn all the incidents on behalf of my government. Unverified reports, fake news spread through social media is a trigger. It is the state government’s responsibility to ensure that no such incidents take place in the future. Law and order is a state subject. This is why we have requested the social media operators to keep a tab in order to avoid the spread of fake information,” he said in Lok Sabha.

Reacting to Rajnath Singh's statement, Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor said mob lynching is not a game of "ping pong" that states and Centre keep shifting responsibilities.

"The Home Minister's statement in Lok Sabha on mob lynching was not satisfactory at all, that is why we staged a walkout from the house. This is not a game of ping pong that states and Centre keep shifting responsibilities," Shashi Tharoor said.