Cow vigilantism: As BJP hails SC order, Oppn accuses Centre of patronising lynching

After the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that it is for the state governments to ensure that incidents of cow vigilantism are prevented, political leaders of from all the parties have hailed the top courts observation.

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) spokesperson Nalin Kohli said he takes top court's decision positively as it is for the safety of the Indian citizens, which has been the agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP Government since day one.

He said, " Law and order, police are state subjects, part of the Constitutional and federal structure. We need to bear in mind that if a crime takes place it's a crime against the society and that is why the state is always a party. The Constitution does not differentiate between Indian Citizens, therefore when a matter of lynching comes and when the Supreme Court said that the States should look at it, I see it as a positive thing, because it's in the interest of the safety of the Indian Citizens, something that the Modi-government had been saying from day one."

CPI(M)'s General Secretary Sitaram Yechury blamed the BJP Government for patronising such incidents of lynching and said that the BJP is dehumanising the Indian society.

He said, "Matters of lynching are no longer just in the name cow vigilantism, now innocent people are also being killed in the on suspicion of being child lifters. The BJP is singularly responsible for these as they are patronizing these private armies that indulge in such ats. Both the Centre and state governments must take immediate action against the culprits. The BJP is creating dehumanisation of the Indian society."

Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said, "These are matters of law and order, but we have the root cause from certain command and the who is this command controlled by is something that the investigation has to find. But there are instigators behind it and these are the culprits who need to be fixed."

Terming cow vigilantism as 'unacceptable' the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the state governments to prevent such incidents.

The three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said, "Nobody can take law into their own hands. It is the obligation of the state's to see these incidents are prevented." He also warned against linking mob violence to religion or caste.