The Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna on Sunday attacked the Centre over the Dadri incident, saying that ‘a man’s death’ was being used for nefarious purposes and political gains in the upcoming Bihar polls and also hit out at Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan, saying he has misunderstood the very definition of ‘secularism’.
“Our ‘secular’ nation is trying to use strategies on how to use Dadri for the Bihar elections. Criticism is rampant that the country is not secular under Prime Minister Modi and that the RSS wants a Hindu nation. But religious tension is being generated in the country for political gain and such attempts won’t be tolerated,? Saamna said. Taking on the Prime Minister, the editorial said that there was communal tension in his own constituency (Varanasi), but no action was being taken to douse the violence.
Training guns on Azam Khan, the editorial attacked him for his decision of taking the Dadri lynching case to the United Nations. “Azam Khan has misunderstood secularism and has crossed all limits in an effort to spur communal tension in the nation. There are many people like him who are the reasons for a divide in the country. Is he is so concerned about communal case, why is he not raising the deaths of many Hindus in Kashmir and Pakistan”, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece added.
The editorial ended on an note appealing to the nation saying that India ‘should not be divided over a piece of beef’. The Shiv Sena had earlier re-iterated their demand for the resignation of Azam Khan, saying that by taking the Dadri lynching case to the United Nations he had betrayed the nation and asserted that India was a safe haven for all Muslims.