Dadri: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday termed the lynching of a man in Dadri over rumour of eating beef as “unfortunate” and said it should not be given any “communal colour”.
“It was an unfortunate incident. But it is not proper to give communal colour to it,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a function.
Singh also added that the incident should not be politicised.
Akhlaq, 50, was beaten to death by a mob on Monday night after a public announcement from the local temple that a calf had been slaughtered and his family had eaten beef.
His 22-year-old son Danish who was also attacked is battling for life at a hospital following two brain surgeries.
The incident has sparked outrage in the country, with parties attacking the BJP alleging that the killing was a result of its “politics of hatred”.
Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, who is also the local BJP MP, had claimed that it was an “accident” and had rejected allegations that it was a “premeditated murder”.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence on the Dadri lynching incident.
AAP leader Ashutosh said that Prime Minister Modi should assure the nation that no one would be murdered in future for choosing to consume a particular kind of food.
“A person has died in Dadri and today is the sixth day. Now, the Prime Minister should end his silence and speak on the matter. The whole nation is looking at him, the people want assurance that no one would be murdered in this country again for eating a particular kind of food. I request the Prime Minister with folded hands to end his silence and meet the victim’s family members,”
CPI leader D. Raja echoing similar sentiments said that the Prime Minister must act against those violating the Constitution.
The family members met the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. Yadav had earlier announced a compensation of Rs. 20 lakh.