Dadri-like cases hurt India's image: Jaitley

Arun Jaitley was speaking at a lecture at Columbia University, New York

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley became the first authoritative voice from the government to unequivocally disapprove of the attack on a Muslim family in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, by a mob. The attack, which left a 50-year-old man dead and his son injured, followed rumours the family might have consumed or stored beef.

“India is a mature society. We need to rise above these kinds of incidents because these certainly don’t give a good name as far as the country is concerned,” he told reporters after a lecture at Columbia University, New York, on Monday. “I have also said they could amount to policy diversions in that context. So, it is the responsibility of every Indian in his action or comment to stay clear of unfortunate and condemnable instances such as this.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had been trying to play down or equivocate on the incident, terming it “an unfortunate accident” rather than a conspiracy to attack a particular community.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to comment on the incident, though he has said at several platforms that his government is committed to harmony between communities, adding any move to oppress minorities will be dealt with firmly

His ministers, however, have been upbraided for making anti-minority remarks. “This (incident) should be considered as an accident, without giving any communal colour to it,” said minister of state for tourism and BJP MP from Noida, Mahesh Sharma. “I feel this incident occurred due to some misunderstanding and the law should truthfully act against whoever is responsible for it.”

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, “What happened in Dadri was unfortunate. It is the responsibility of everybody to maintain peace and harmony.”

“Whatever happened was wrong and unfortunate. But why do such incidents happen? Look at any district in the state. Cow slaughterhouses are set up at every place. The Uttar Pradesh government has not been able to take effective action…. The incident speaks volumes of the deteriorating law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh. How can you expect the prime minister to speak on every murder?” asked Sanjeev Balyan, minister of state for agriculture.

“We will not be silent if anybody tries to kill our mother. The UP government’s double standards have been exposed. The way in which the incident is being politicised is condemnable,” said BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj.