PM Modi tells Opposition to not politicise lynchings, ensure peace

The Prime Minister said both him and the BJP had spoken against mob lynchings in “clear words”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged Opposition parties to not politicise lynchings and, instead, help ensure that society remains integrated.

Prime Minister Modi said “it would be a great travesty to reduce mob lynchings to mere statistics and then indulge in politics over them”. (Ajay Aggarwal/ HT Photo)

In an exclusive interview with ANI, Prime Minister Modi said that “my party and I have spoken in clear words, on multiple occasions against such actions (lynching) and such a mindset. It is all on record. Even a single incident is one too many and deeply unfortunate. Everyone should rise above politics to ensure peace and unity in our society”.

Prime Minister Modi termed the incidents of mob lynching as criminal and said that “it would be a great travesty to reduce these incidents to mere statistics and then indulge in politics over them. That shows a kind of perverse mindset that looks at violence and criminality as something to be milked, instead of unitedly opposing”.

As per data compiled by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 45 persons were killed in 40 cases of mob lynching across nine states between 2014 and 3 March, 2018.

The Supreme Court on July 17 asked the Centre to enact a law to deal with incidents of lynching and take action on mob violence.