Prez voices deep angst over Dadri lynching case

President Pranab Mukherjee has expressed his angst at the killing of a 50-year-old man in Dadri, less than 30 km from the national Capital, on the suspicion of eating beef. Speaking at the release of a coffee table book about him at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the President veered off from the talking points and said, “Many ancient civilisations have fallen. Despite aggression after aggression our civilisation has survived because of our core civilisation values....If we keep that in mind, nothing can prevent our democracy from moving ahead.”

Mukherjee’s statement follows the gestures of protest registered by litterateurs like Nayantara Sahgal and Ashok Vajpeyi. The two have returned the awards presented to them by the Sahitya Akademi, India’s academy of letters. After Hindi litterateur Uday Prakash and English writer Nayantara Sahgal, Vajpeyi is the third recipient of the Sahitya Akademi award to return it. He had received it for his poetry collection, “Kahin Nahin <g data-gr-id="40">Wahin</g>”, in 1994.

The President making a strong pitch for maintaining harmony amidst cultural diversity said that the core values of diversity, tolerance and plurality of Indian civilisation must be maintained. Mukherjee said, “I firmly believe that we cannot allow the core values of our civilization to be wasted and the core value is what over the years the civilization celebrated diversity, promoted and advocated tolerance, endurance and plurality.”

The President’s 15-minute speech, otherwise filled with anecdotes on his long political career, was made in the presence of Vice President Hamid Ansari, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and parliamentarians.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked for <g data-gr-id="49">report</g> on the Dadri incident after the remarks of Mukherjee. The Home Ministry briefed the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday, after receiving a report from the Uttar Pradesh government, which has said that politicisation of the <g data-gr-id="48">issue,</g> has led to unrest in the Dadri area.

Among those present on the occasion were Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who had earlier said, “Be it the state government or the central government, strongest possible action will be taken against those who try to break communal harmony in the country.” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while speaking to reporters at California, too said that such events damage Brand India.

There has been nationwide outrage at 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq’s murder by the mob in <g data-gr-id="41">Bisada</g> village in UP’’s Dadri last week. It has also led to controversial statements by politicians amid the arrest of ten men of the village, including the son of a local BJP leader.

Opposition parties have questioned what they call the Prime Minister’s silence on the incident, even as leaders of the BJP and those of the Samajwadi Party, which rules Uttar Pradesh, have traded charges of polarisation.

The UP Police have recommended a case to be registered against Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, BJP MLA Sangeet Som and BSP leader Nasimuddin Siddiqui for violating provisions of Section 144 and addressing public meetings during their visits to <g data-gr-id="39">Bishada</g> village.