Kejriwal speaks out against lynchings, says no religion teaches us to kill

Delhi chief mminister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday termed the recent incidents of lynchings over beef rumours and religion in the country as “politics of hatred.”

Interacting with volunteers of the Aam Aadmi Party through social media, Kejriwal said that there was a need to stand together against such crimes in order to send out a stern message to those engaging in such acts of hate.

“Some groups are murdering people in the name of religion and cows. This is not right. There is politics behind these incidents and its dirty politics,” he said.

He emphasized on the need to take a strong stand on the issue. “We need to come together and raise our voice against these lynchings. Only then will the politicians behind these incidents get a strong message,” he said.

“No religion teaches us to murder. I am also a Hindu, I have read the Gita and the Ramayan. Every religion and every God — be it Jesus, Krishna, Ram or Prophet — teach only to love and help others. It teaches us to speak the truth and sacrifice for the betterment of the society. Lynching is a sin. It is a big sin,” Kejriwal said.

Apart from Kejriwal, the interaction also included deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. Most of Sunday’s interactions also revolved around the recently implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Although calling it a “good concept”, AAP convener Kejriwal criticized the Modi government for poorly implementing the new tax regime. “Several foreign countries have GST, but in India it was not rolled out with proper preparations,” he said.

Kejriwal further said that the traders would be worse hit by the new taxation system. “Two things are going to happen now with the GST. Firstly, the troubles for traders are going to increase. Secodnly, inflation is going to hit the roof,” he said.

Sisodia, on the other hand, explained to the people the pros and cons of the new tax system. “Through this live chat, we wish to educate families about GST. To begin with, the service sector is going to be more expensive now. The Centre has increased service tax from 15% to 18%. Life is set to get tougher for the economically weaker sections,” he said.

(ENDS)

First Published: Jul 02, 2017 23:30 IST