'Why has govt failed to rein in communal hatred?' Congress writes to Modi
New Delhi: Congress today expressed surprise over the Modi government's "inability" to rein in affiliates of Sangh Parivar "brewing communal hatred and mistrust" for electoral gains giving rise to "suspicion" that it is part of the deliberate strategy to "polarise and divide".
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting the "growing attacks" on the minority community, including the latest in Latehar district of Jharkhand where two cattle traders were tortured and hanged to death by "radical bigots".
"With great dismay, I am impelled to observe that such episodes of brutality and mob violence seem to give a spectacle of some parts of the world where democracy does not exist not of India which is widely respected as a vibrant and secular democracy governed by rule of law," Azad, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said in his two-page letter.
Azad termed as unfortunate the "spurt" in incidents of threats, intimidation, mob violence and vigilantism after the BJP government took office at the Centre.
"Majoritarian view of democracy is being propagated and promoted consciously and deliberately. This has serious implications for the survival of democracy, pluralism, social harmony and peace besides growth and development of the country," he said.
He said Congress Party and civil society have been continuously drawing the attention of the government towards "growing phenomenon of communal hatred and polarisation".
"Ministers, MPs and MLAs, leaders of the ruling party and affiliates of Sangh Parivar have been persistently making provocative and offensive statements to divide and polarise the communities.
"What is suprising is that no perceptible effort on the part of the government and BJP leadership is being made to rein in such elements, giving rise to the suspicion that it is part of the deliberate strategy to polarise and divide," he said.
"I would like to underline that entire nation is worried about the unchecked growth of communal hatred and mistrust being brewed for the sake of electoral politics. There is an urgent need to stem this rising tide, lest it is too late," he said.
