Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while speaking in Rajya Sabha, addressed the death of Tabrez Ansari, who was lynched by a group of people in Jharkhand, on suspicion of theft. In a video that went viral, he is seen forced to chant Jai Shri Ram and Jai Hanuman. He succumbed to injuries on 22 June, three days after he was beaten up.
A week after the horrific incident, Modi said it pained him but it was unfair to blame the entire state for it.
“Jharkhand mob lynching is saddening but why blame the entire state? Violence whether in Jharkhand, West Bengal or Kerala should be dealt with equally.”PM Modi in Rajya Sabha.
But the prime minister forgot that he had, in the past, compared Kerala to Somalia. In May, he had said at an election rally that the "infant mortality rate among the scheduled tribe community in Kerala is worse than Somalia".
Tweeple questioned the PM’s double standards and more.
Twitter Questions Double Standards
“Will any of our brave Panna Pramukhs show mirror to him,” asked one Twitter user.
Another Twitter user pointed out how Modi had called Delhi the ‘rape capital’ in 2014.
Instances where Modi had pin-pointed states for high crime rates were also dug up.
Priority is Image Of State
Journalist Rana Ayyub said he said the exact lines about Gujarat, post riots. She was referring to the time he responded to riots with, “Are you calling all Gujaratis 'Maut ke Saudagar’?”
“The bigger concern always is the image of the state,” she tweeted.
One Twitter user said, “Jharkhand isn't the hub of lynching. All of India is fighting for that distinction. Let's not insult India. Let's bring a law against lynching,” she wrote.
‘Who Is To Blame Then?’
Other Twitter users demanded accountability. Who is to blame then? Why is the PM deflecting rather than condemning.
Journalist Sanjukta Basu said, “Jharkhand is hub of lynching because more than a dozen lynchings happened and your minister Jayant Sinha publicly garlands and gives sweets to men convicted of lynching.”
Some sarcastic tweets also appeared, taking a dig at Prime Minister Modi and his statement.
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