Amid Row Over Dadri Killing, President’s Extempore Appeal for Tolerance

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Oct 07, 2015:  President Pranab Mukherjee has made an appeal for tolerance, days after a mob lynched a Muslim man in an Uttar Pradesh village, just 30 km away from the national capital, allegedly over rumours of cow slaughter.

"We can’t allow core values of our civilisation to be wasted. The core values are that civilisation has celebrated diversity, promoted and advocated tolerance, endurance and plurality," said President Mukherjee, speaking at a book release function at the presidential palace, the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The President, who spoke extempore for about 15 minutes, also 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." 

There has been nationwide outrage at 52-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq’s murder by the mob in Bisada 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.

Today, Home Minister Rajnath Singh 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."

The Home Ministry has also briefed the Prime Minister’s Office after it received a report on the incident from the UP government, which has said that politicisation of the issue has led to unrest in the area.

Courtesy: NDTV