Maharashtra election: Shashi Tharoor in Pune recounts mob lynchings of Mohsin Shaikh, Mohammad Akhlaq, Pehlu Khan, asks 'is this our Bharat'

In a veiled attack on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government at the Centre, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday condemned the incidents of mob lynchings that have happened “over the last six years”. Addressing a gathering in Pune, Tharoor on Sunday said that the spate had begun with the killing of Mohsin Shaikh. “Is this our Bharat? Is this what Hindu dharam says,” asked the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram. He spoke about Mohammad Akhlaq, the victim of 2015 mob lynching in Uttar Pradesh’s Dadri and said, “Mohammad Akhlaq was killed because he was allegedly carrying beef. But it was reported later that it was not beef. Even if it was beef, who gave anyone the right to kill a person?”

Shashi Tharoor: Is this our Bharat? Is this what Hindu Dharam says? I am a Hindu but not of this kind. Also, while killing people, they are asked to say ‘Jai Sri Ram’. It is an insult to Hindu Dharma. It is an insult to Lord Ram that people are being killed using his name. pic.twitter.com/30FyKel2aO

— ANI (@ANI) September 22, 2019

Election Commission on Saturday announced that single-phase Assembly elections will be held in Maharashtra on 21 October and the counting of votes will take place on 24 October. Tharoor echoed the criticism levelled by most Opposition leaders against the central government, who claim that crimes against minorities have exponentially increased ever since the administration under Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP alone had received an unexpected majority of 282 seats, which was trumped in 2019 Lok Sabha election when the party won 303 seats. Tharoor, speaking about the Pehlu Khan lynching case, said, “One election result gave so much power to such people that they do anything and kill anyone?” “I am a Hindu, but not of this kind. Also, while killing people, they are asked to say ‘Jai Sri Ram’. It is an insult to Hindu d_harm_. It is an insult to Lord Ram that people are being killed using his name,” Tharoor added. With inputs from agencies