Killing of people in the name of 'gau bhakti' unacceptable, says PM Modi

Opposition terms it publicity stunt under pressure after 'not in my name' protests

A day after people from diverse walks of life protested in several cities across India the recent incidents of mob lynching of Muslims, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday broke his silence on the issue.

At an event in Ahmedabad, the PM said killing people on the pretext of 'gau bhakti', or protecting cows was unacceptable and Mahatma Gandhi would never have approved of it. Modi said no one had the right to take the law into their hands.

Within hours of the PM's comments, his first on the issue since August 2016, a Muslim man accused of carrying beef was beaten to death and his van set on fire in Jharkhand's Ramgarah district, IANS reported from Ranchi. Alimuddin alias Asgar Ansari died of his injuries in a local hospital. Additional director general of police RK Mallik said it was a "premediated murder" with some people involved in beef trade hatched a conspiracy to kill him.

In New Delhi, Opposition leaders termed the PM's comments as "eyewash and lip service". Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said the PM's remarks were "too little too late". "Words mean nothing when actions outdo them," he said on Twitter. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said it was Modi's "yet another publicity stunt", which had no meaning and the message to cow vigilantes was clear that they should continue with their acts without the fear of the law.

Azad and Communist Party of India (Marxist) chief Sitaram Yechury credited the pressure built by Wednesday's protests in several cities, under the banner 'not in my name', to have forced the PM to make a statement on the issue. "But these words are meaningless unless followed by action by BJP governments," Yechury said.

In comparison to his comments on the issue on August 7, 2016, the PM's statement today was milder. At a MyGov event last year, the PM had hit out at 'gau rakshaks', or cow protectors, after incidents of beating up and lynching, especially of Dalits. He had then said people involved in anti-social activities have donned the garb of 'cow protectors' as cover their nefarious deeds. He had even asked state governments to prepare police dossiers of such elements.

Today, addressing a meeting to mark the centenary of the Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati ashram, Modi said: "Today, I want to express my sadness and my pain, when I am here at the Sabarmati ashram."

"This is a country which has the tradition of giving food to ants, street dogs, fish, the country where Mahatma Gandhi taught us lessons of non-violence. What has happened to us?" Modi asked.

"If a patient dies due to an unsuccessful operation, relatives burn down hospitals and beat up doctors. The accident is an accident. When people die or are injured in the accidents, a group of people come together and burn vehicles," he said.

"Nobody would have practised cow protection and cow worship more than Mahatma Gandhi and (his disciple) Vinoba Bhave. They showed us the way how to protect cow. The country will have to adopt their way," the prime minister said.

"The Indian Constitution also teaches us about cow protection. But does this (cow protection) give us any right to kill a person. Is this gau bhakti (cow worship)? Is this cow protection?" Modi asked. "Killing people in the name of 'gau bhakti' is not acceptable," he asserted, saying "this is not something Mahatma Gandhi would have approved."

Modi said people have no right to take law into their hands. "Violence has never solved and will never solve any problem. As a society, there is no place for violence," he said.

A Muslim youth was last week killed on board a Mathura-bound train by people who taunted his family and repeatedly called them "anti- nationals" and "beef eaters."