Those involved in Lynching, hate crimes are not nationalists: Naidu

New Delhi: Those involved in incidents of hate and lynching cannot call themselves Nationalists said VP M Nekaiah Naidu expressing his anguish over politicizing such hate crime incidents.

“Societal change (is needed). This (lynching) is not because of this party or that party. The moment you attribute it to these parties, the cause is lost. That is what is happening, let me be very frank,” Naidu said, PTI reported.

“It is the societies behaviour that has to change…when you kill the other man, how can you call yourself nationalist. On the basis of religion, on the basis of caste or on the basis of colour, or on the basis of gender, you discriminate. Nationalism, Bharat Mata Ki Jai has a wider meaning,” Naidu told when asked about his opinion on lynching.

He asserted that “some of these things” cannot be prevented through legislation alone but a societal change was needed to check them.

Well according to the reports published by Home Ministry, as many as 40 people alone were lynched in 9 states in the past one year.

Lynching cases have surely gone up since the ruling party has come to power instilling fear among the people and with the statistics available on such hate crimes, there is no other reason why opposition parties are accusing the ruling party of the incidents.

Taking action against such mob lynching across the nation, the Supreme Court on July 17, issued fresh guidelines to deal with mob lynching and cow vigilantism asking the Central government to consider enacting a strict law to deal with such incidents.

“When the Nirbhaya issue came, there was a clamour for Nirbhaya act.
Nirbhaya act has come, did they stop. I am not getting into politics, the political parties they have their own way of highlighting it. I (had) said, what is required is not a mere bill, political will, administrative skill, and then go for the kill of the social evil. I had said in Parliament,” said Naidu who opines a law would not curb such incidents.

“According to me nationalism or ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ means ‘Jai Ho’ to 130 crore people. Any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, sex, religion or region is against nationalism,” the vice president said.