DADRI, Oct 2: As BJP came under intensified attack over the killing of man here over rumour that he had eaten beef, Union Minister Mahesh Sharma today said parties should refrain from playing politics by giving communal colour to the incident and there should be an impartial probe by CBI or the state to punish the guilty.
Sharma, who is also the local BJP MP, visited the family of deceased Iqlakh and stuck to his stand that it was an “accident”, soon after controversial AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi met them and alleged that the man was targeted for his religion as part of a “pre-planned” conspiracy.
“It is a blot on our culture and such incidents do not have a place in a civilised society. If somebody says it was pre-planned, I don’t agree with it. It is an accident and investigation should happen by CBI or state and guilty should be punished. Innocents should not be victimised in the name of investigation.
“Law should take its course and there should be fair investigation. I condemn any attempt to give political or communal colour to this incident. Such people are neither well wishers of the society nor of the country,” Sharma said.
The Minister also held a meeting at the village temple and said Hindu families have promised to protect the Muslim families.
His remarks came as parties stepped up attack on the BJP, alleging that it was trying to polarise the people on religious lines with such incidents.
After meeting the victim’s family, AIMIM leader Owaisi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his silence on the issue, saying the “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas PM” should have at least sent his condolences in a tweet if “he believes in pluralism and upholding of law”.
“This wasn’t an attack over meat. He has been killed in the name of religion. This is a pre-planned, cold-blooded killing. It cannot be an accident,” he said.
The AIMIM leader also hit out at Union Minister Mahesh Sharma.
“Mahesh Sharma is the Culture Minister of the country and it is unfortunate that the minister who has taken oath on the Constitution doesn’t have the courage and intellectual honesty to condemn the incident unconditionally,” the Hyderabad MP said.
“He and his PM say ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas’, then such incidents happen. These words should be put into practice,” he said.
Breaking his silence, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhikesh Yadav too targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying those who spoke against “pink revolution” should ban beef exports and alleged that they wanted to disturb the “secular” ethos of the country by raising such issues.
Speaking in Lucknow, Yadav said the guilty will not be spared and his government will act with “full honesty”.
“A debate is going on all over the country over the incident and I assure you that those responsible for it will not be spared, however strong they might be,” he said.
“A rumour does not have anything in it but a lot can happen because of it. Our Constitution is based on secularism. Our schemes are all based on this principle but some forces want to vitiate the atmosphere.”
“They want to rake up such issues. These forces talked about pink revolution. We will say today – you are in government now, so ban beef exports. You should build support for banning their export,” he said in an apparent reference to Modi, who had in the run-up to last Lok Sabha elections attacked the then UPA government over meat exports, saying it as encouraging “pink revolution”.
Iqlakh was beaten to death and his 22-year-old son Danish was critically injured by a 200-strong mob which barged into their house on Monday night following rumours that the family had consumed beef. Cow slaughter is banned in Uttar Pradesh.
A blame game has erupted between BJP and ruling SP in the state over the killing of the 50-year-old man. SP has accused BJP of deliberately inciting violence ahead of 2017 assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh as part of efforts to polarise people while BJP has termed it a failure of the state government to maintain law and order.
“Government and law will work with full honesty and find out the guilty persons and ensure punishment,” Yadav said.
Owaisi, who heads the Muslim right wing All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), also hit out at the Samajwadi government, alleging that instead of nabbing the attackers it was “doing forensic test on a piece of meat and treating the victim as accused”.
“They have so much poison in their minds that a person who had died, rather than treating him as a victim, they are treating him as an accused,” he said.
Firing a salvo at Modi, he said, “… We were expecting the PM would have sent condolences to Sartaj (victim’s son) and condemned it. We were expecting that the ‘sabka saath sabka vikaas’ PM should have condoled at least on tweet.”
Owaisi demanded that the accused be charged with IPC section related to murder and a time-bound trial be held.
He said that he feared that Samajwadi Party government will let the accused go scot-free “as had happened after Muzaffarnagar riots”.
“This is the thought which is against secularism, it is against the brotherhood of India. It sees Muslims with an eye of suspicion,” the Hyderabad MP said. (PTI)
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