Modi breaks silence on Jharkhand lynching, says it pained him

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday broke his silence on lynching of a Muslim youth in Jharkhand, saying it has pained him and the guilty must be severely punished, but stressed that all incidents of violence in the country, whether in Jharkhand, West Bengal or Kerala, should be treated the same and law should take its course.

Addressing Rajya Sabha, he also spoke on the death of over 130 children this month from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) or 'brain fever' in Bihar saying it was a matter of "shame" and the "biggest failure" of seven decades that outbreak of such disease continues to kill even after so many years of independence.

In his over an hour long reply to the debate on Motion of Thanks to President, Modi launched a blistering attack on the Congress saying it was sheer arrogance of the grand old party which is unable to accept its defeat and continues to question the mandate of the people through attacks on EVMs.

Modi, who received flak from the opposition over his 'silence' on the lynching incident in BJP-ruled Jharkhand, said "security of every citizen is our constitutional duty".

"The lynching in Jharkhand has pained me. It has saddened others too. Guilty should get severest punishment but for this the entire state has been pronounced guilty and everyone put in dock, which is not right," he said.

A Muslim youth, accused of stealing a motorcycle, was beaten up by a mob and a video showed that he was purportedly made to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Hanuman' in the Saraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. He later died.

The Prime Minister said some people in Rajya Sabha are calling Jharkhand a hub of lynching. "Is this fair? Why are they insulting a state."
"In modern times, such a situation is a matter of pain as well as shame for all of us," he said. "This is the biggest failure in last seven decades and we should take it seriously."
Countering the opposition charge of media bias during elections, he said, "Is media on sale. Was it on sale in Tamil Nadu and Kerala (where Congress and its allies won)."