'Stop making irresponsible statements for petty gains': PM Modi

In an apparent reference to the Dadri lynching incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged all not to make irresponsible statements for petty gains and said that Hindus and Muslims should fight poverty rather than locking horns with each other.

"I want to tell the people that because of politics and for petty gains, the people are making irresponsible statements. I appeal to the citizens not to take them seriously. Even if Narendra Modi himself says something like that, don't listen to him. If you want to listen then hear the speech of President Pranab Mukherjee yesterday," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing a rally in Navada.

"There can be no bigger thought than that. President has shown us the way, and we have to walk on that path. Only then will we be able to live up to the expectations of the world," he added.

Reminding the people of his earlier speeches, Prime Minister Modi said, "I had said that we should decide whether Hindus have to fight against Muslims or against poverty and the same applies to Muslims. I had said just after the bomb blasts that Hindus and Muslims should unite to fight against poverty."

President Pranab Mukherjee had earlier on Wednesday urged the people to uphold tolerance and plurality, which have been the hallmarks of Indian civilisation.

The President's remark came in the backdrop of a raging controversy over the incident in Dadri where a 50-year-old man was lynched by a mob over allegations that his family consumed beef.