India PM Narendra Modi Endorses Cow Protection, No Post On Mob lynching From @narendramodi Twitter Yet
Soon after the launch of the #NotInMyName campaign, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed those who engage in mob lynching. He said that killing people in the name of protecting cows won’t be tolerated. At the same time, he has also endorsed the protection of cows.
The #NotInMyName campaign started after teenager Junaid Khan had been killed by a group of men on a train in the presence of hundreds of passive commuters. The teenager’s brother claimed that it was a racist attack, as the attackers taunted Khan and his associates as “beef eaters.”
On Thursday, Modi spoke about the issue of mob lynching in the name of protecting the cow. He was addressing a crowd at Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram in the state of Gujarat. According to him, mob lynching does not go with the ideology of Gandhi, the Father of the Nation.
The Indian PM said that there was no place for violence in the Indian society. He condemned those who were taking the law into their hands, the BBC reported.
The cow is considered a holy animal in Hinduism. Eating beef is forbidden in the religion. But, other religions, including Judaism, Islam, and Christianity do not have such restrictions. In the last two years, nearly a dozen people have been killed due to their alleged consumption of beef. Cow vigilante groups are accused of acting like self-proclaimed guardians of the Indian legal system, the opposition alleged.
The #NotInMyName protest was held in a number of Indian cities on Wednesday. Thousands of people gathered in Bangalore, Mumbai, Allahabad, Lucknow, Hyderabad and the national capital, New Delhi. The protest was held in London as well. According to reports, similar protests will be held in Pakistan, Canada, and the United States.
As it was earlier reported by the Inquisitr, Modi’s opposition blames him for maintaining silence on the issue of mob lynching of Muslims in India. While Modi spoke to a group of people on Thursday, his Twitter handle @narendramodi has a much larger reach. There was no tweet on the issue on Modi’s Twitter account, which has 31.1 million followers.
However, the official Twitter handle of the prime minister’s office, @PMOIndia, did share a post about the prime minister’s take on the issue. This Twitter account, however, has fewer followers (18.7 million).
Violence never has and never will solve any problem: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 29, 2017
“Killing people in the name of Gau Bhakti (reverence for the cow) is not acceptable,” the tweet said.
No one spoke about protecting cows more than Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave. Yes. It should be done: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 29, 2017
According to the PMO account on Twitter, PM Modi, in his speech, referred to Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave, who had talked about protecting cows. He emphasized that cows “should be” protected.
“Yes. It should be done.”
Modi also talked about the issue of mob lynching in the name of the cow in August last year. He said some people were using “the mask” of the cow in order to attack others. According to NDTV, the opposition has welcomed Modi’s comment on the issue this time. However, they expect the Indian PM to take strong actions against the crime of public lynching.
Update
Indian PM Narendra Modi has shared the video of his speech on Twitter from @narendramodi handle. He slammed mob lynching in this speech.
There is no place for violence in India. Let us create an India that would make Gandhi Ji proud. pic.twitter.com/NZS1svMOpY
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 29, 2017
[Featured Image by Rob Stothard/Getty Images)]
