Criticising the recent incident of lynching by self-proclaimed ‘Gau Rakshaks’ (cow vigilantes) in Alwar district of Rajasthan, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday slammed BJP for bringing a bad name to Hinduism and urged senior leaders to control their partymen instead of giving statements in the Parliament against lynching and vigilantism.
Quoting Union home minister Rajnath Singh’s speech on acting against cow vigilantes during the debate on no-confidence motion three days back, Miss Banerjee said condemning lynching in Parliament is not enough.
“Charity begins at home. Why is Mr Singh condemning such act in the Parliament and not doing anything to control his party leaders? They (read BJP) are doing ‘adharma’ in the name of ‘dharma’. I appeal to all political leaders and the common citizens to stop such acts immediately,” said Miss Banerjee while leaving Nabanna this evening.
Miss Banerjee said she considers cow as ‘gau mata’ and respects it. “Some extremist religious groups are engaging in hatred campaigns and taking the law in their own hands. They are lynching people,” she said, adding that if a similar situation happens in her state she would not tolerate it.
Slamming the BJP for defaming Hindus, Miss Banerjee said: “We don’t need to take lessons from them (read BJP) for proving that we are Hindus. Hinduism is a universal religion. Our religion teaches us tolerance. It does not teach us to murder a person from another religion. If we can respect all religious then why can’t they (read BJP)?” she said.