Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh is on the edge since September 28 when a Mohammad Ikhlaq was lynched by a mob and his son, Danish, injured critically after rumours that they had eaten beef. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had said after the Dadri incident, “notorious elements and communal forces were circulating objectionable content on social media”. Effective action should be taken and elements spreading rumours should be dealt with strictly by taking immediate cognizance of such cases, he had said.
Following his public statements, reports on Tuesday said that the UP Police, on the directions of the Samajwadi Party government, had written a letter to Twitter Inc asking them to remove some photographs and text uploaded on the social networking platform believed to be related to the Dadri incident.
“The Chief Minister has directed to take stern action against elements creating disharmony and inciting hatred by circulating baseless content on social media, specially (on) Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter,” a UP government spokesman was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, a case was also registered after a controversial tweet was posted on a twitter handle operating from Noida, adjoining Delhi, on September 30.
Meanwhile in New York, union finance minister Arun Jaitley has said that such incidents affect the country’s image and “amount to policy diversions.” He was speaking to a national television channel. “India is a mature society. We have to rise above these incidents because they certainly don’t bring a good name as far as country is concerned. And I have also said that they can amount to policy diversions”, he added. The Finance Minister also said it was the responsibility of every Indian, “in his actions or comments, to stay clear of unfortunate or condemnable incidents of this kind.”
Opposition parties have targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what they call his silence on the incident. The BJP has been facing condemnation after its controversial lawmaker Sangeet Som, charged with inciting riots in Muzaffarnagar in 2013, visited the Bisada village and vowed to help the accused, describing Akhlaq’s family as “cow-killers”. The mob had been instigated allegedly by young men linked to local BJP leader Sanjay Rana; one of the accused is his son Vishal.
On Monday, the home ministry, in an advisory to all states, said there would be “zero tolerance” for incidents that “attempt to weaken the secular fabric of the nation and exploit religious sentiments”. Mentioning the Dadri lynching, the advisory said the states should “take strictest action as per law… without any exception”. The ministry has also asked for a report from Uttar Pradesh’s Akhilesh Yadav government on the mob killing, and asked it to make sure such incidents do not recur.
