NEW DELHI – Days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally broke his silence and slammed murder in the name of cow protection, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday has also spoken up on the increasing incidents of mob lynching in his country.
He asked whether the society is vigilant enough to save the basic tenets of the country. “When mob lynching becomes so high and uncontrollable, we have to pause and reflect, are we vigilant enough?” Mukherjee was quoted as saying by ANI.
Speaking at the release of the commemorative publication of National Herald, Mukherjee said, “I am not talking of vigilantism, I am talking of are we vigilant enough, proactively to save the basic tenets of our country.”
Earlier on Thursday, Indian PM Narendra Modi during his two-day Gujarat visit said, “Killing of people in the name of cow protection is not acceptable.” These remarks came amid a spurt of attacks by cow vigilantes and a wave of protests.
“Killing people in the name of ‘gau bhakti’ is not acceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve,” he said.
However, just hours after Modi’s condemnation of the barbaric act, another man was lynched to death in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district for allegedly carrying beef in his van.
Earlier this week, a nation-wide protest erupted under the tagline “Not in My Name against the lynching of a 17-year-old Junaid, who was stabbed to death on June 22 onboard a train, which he had taken with his two brothers after Eid shopping in Delhi.
