New Delhi: Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said lynching was a word unheard of before 2014, evoking sharp reactions from BJP leaders.
“Before 2014, the word ‘lynching’ was practically unheard of,” Rahul Gandhi said in a Tweet.
The comment came on a day when the Jharkhand, where Congress is ruling alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), passed the Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill 2021.
It also comes in the backdrop of two incidents of lynching in Punjab where two people were beaten to death in less than 24 hours for sacrilege.
The comment drew sharp reactions from the ruling BJP.
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur said Congress leaders never apologised for the “lynching” of Sikhs in 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
“The biggest example of lynching is 1984, before Rajiv Gandhi came to power, after the death of Indira Gandhi. The way Sikhs were lynched is remebered by the whole country. Sikh community has been pleading for justice, a SIT was formed only after the Modi government came to power. Congress leaders never apologised for it,” he said.
BJP’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya shared videos and slammed former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He also mentioned several riots that took place during the Congress’ regime, including “Ahmedabad (1969), Jalgaon (1970), Moradabad (1980), Nellie (1983), Bhiwandi (1984), Delhi (1984), Ahmedabad (1985), Bhagalpur (1989), Hyderabad (1990), Kanpur (1992), Mumbai (1993)”.
The Jharkhand Assembly on Tuesday passed the Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill 2021. Parliamentary Affairs Mi
