BJP leaders are communalising Darbhanga murder without proof
Let the police do their job.
A 70-year-old man, the father of a BJP worker, was beheaded by 40-50 armed men in Bihar’s Darbhanga. The victim’s family alleges he was killed for naming a chowk after Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The police claim the murder was a result of a property dispute.
In the midst of all this, members of the BJP – the state chief Nityanand Rai and Union minister Giriraj Singh, no less – have gone to Darbhanga, and are making statements that turn the crime into political and communal fodder.
Both the leaders have openly accused the police of lying and engineering a cover-up – Singh went so far as to ask the crowd to raise slogans against additional SP Dilnawaz Ahmad – even as state deputy CM Sushil Modi insisted that the murder had nothing to do with the naming of the chowk, and was in fact over a land dispute.
Totally false that murder in Darbhanga cose of naming Modi https://t.co/Vzjoj6xJaW of land dispute.Board was put long back,Murder has nothing to do with Board.
— Sushil Kumar Modi (@SushilModi) March 16, 2018
I am reaching out to our karyakarta in Darbhanga today..where is award Warsi Gang and freedom of expression champion.#DarbhangaLynching https://t.co/1san9uGeoU
— Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) March 17, 2018
??? ???? ?? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?? ?? ?????????? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ????????? ???? ????? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ????????? ?? ??? ?? ...????? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ????????? ?? ?? ??? ?? ????-???? ??? ??? ?? ? https://t.co/jlV1CEhUFJ
— Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) March 18, 2018
#Darbhanga (Bihar): Around 40-50 men came on 25-30 bikes with hockey sticks & swords. My father went to them to explain the situation, but was beheaded, they also tried to kill my brother: Son of 70-yr-old man who was beheaded for naming a chowk as Narendra Modi chowk pic.twitter.com/sVS5i65GKI
— ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2018
It is the police’s job to probe the case and bring out the truth of the matter. However, the way some elements in the BJP have jumped at the chance to milk polarisation capital from a crime is scary.
A careful attempt – aided and abetted by social media – is being made to portray the murder as having been committed by RJD supporters who wanted the road named Lalu Chowk instead of Modi Chowk, and “emboldened” by the party’s victory in the recently concluded Araraia by-polls, killed the man who opposed them.
Efforts are on to link the crime to the Muslim community – while trolls on social media said the style of killing — beheading — was reminiscent of the ISIS, Singh has said: “I was aware that a certain community, a party has been trying to inject poison. Today, post-election results, Teju Yadav and his family narrated how after constructing Modi Chowk they’ve been dealing with a mountain of problems.”
He has also asked if the “award wapsi gang” will speak up on the “#DarbhangaLynching”.
Scores of intellectuals had returned government honours in protest against the rising intolerance in the country after the Dadri lynching case, where Mohammad Akhlaq was beaten to death by his Hindu neighbours on suspicion of having eaten beef.
Singh is trying to frame the Darbhanga murder as an act of communal violence, without any proof whatsoever. In fact, the three people to be arrested on the basis of the FIR filed by victim Ramcharan Yadav’s family – Dilip Mahto (32), Devendra Kumar Yadav (22) and Ramsevak Yadav (45) – are related to the Yadavs.
Seen in the light of the recent remarks by both Singh and Rai, that Araraia will turn into an “ISI den” and a “terror hub”, these attempts become even more worrisome. “RJD has given a fillip to the extremist ideology in the constituency which shares a border with Nepal. It will be a threat to not only Bihar, but the entire country,” Singh had said.
These statements perpetuate the poisonous notion Hindutva dangles – that Muslims are waiting for a chance to harm Hindus and India, and the only way to prevent that is to make sure no “pro-minority” political party comes to power.
Indeed, soon after the RJD won the by-poll in Araria, videos of winning candidate Sarfaraz Alam’s supporters “chanting pro-Pakistan slogans” went viral. Probe is on to verify the authenticity of the videos.
Singh, in the speeches that he has made in Darbhanga, has referred to Kairana and Kasganj. While the bogey of the Kairana exodus – Hindus driven out of their homes by Muslims – has been shown to be false, Kasganj was a clash between two groups that BJP leaders have sought to portray as an attack on Hindus for chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai.
My statement from ground zero in Darbhanga where our karyakarta was murdered . pic.twitter.com/cbN4uRWiJH
— Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) March 17, 2018
The minister, thus, is following a script – vague half-truths to link a crime to Muslims, and then whip up hysteria about Hindus being in danger.
This, when voices from within the BJP – Sushil Modi and Darbhanga’s MP Kirti Azad – have stated that the murder was over a land dispute.
. @BJP4India please don't polarise #Darbhanga capital of #Mithila land of #MaaSita. Land dispute is not communal @AmitShah ji you suspended me for exposing corruption. We #Mithilanchalis are peace loving people. @narendramodi bhai please help. Stop divisive forces humble prayer
— Kirti Azad (@KirtiAzadMP) March 16, 2018
, isn't it unfortunate @girirajsinghbjp that our honourable #PM @narendramodi talks of "sabka saath sabka vikas" and u as union minister r going against his vision, dividing and polarising the masses in #Mithila. #NarendraBhai please stop this #LooseCannon. Its' #NDAGovt in Bihar https://t.co/V8K5diLnh8
— Kirti Azad (@KirtiAzadMP) March 17, 2018
The country has recently seen a ghastly consequence of communal polarisation being normalised, when Shambhulal Regar in Rajasthan decided to settle personal scores under the garb of fighting love jihad, and got a large section of the public to rally behind him despite murdering a man on camera.
Riots and clashes are bad enough, but the society reaching a stage where personal disputes can be given a communal and political colour is chilling. The BJP needs to rein in its hatemongers.