Jharkhand lynching pained me, Muzaffarpur’s AES deaths matter of shame: PM Modi

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday broke his silence on the Jharkhand lynching incident and death of more than 100 children due to AES in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.
The PM said lynching “pained” him and the guilty must be punished, but asked “shall we label everybody from Jharkhand for it?” “The state has several good souls. It is not fair to blame all of Jharkhand,” the PM said, adding violence in the country, whether in Jharkhand, West Bengal or Kerala, should be “looked at through the same prism.” Modi was reacting to the statement made by Congress’ Ghulam Nabi Azad, in which he had called Jharkhand “lynching ka adda.”

Replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Modi said death of children in Muzaffarpur is a “sad situation” and a matter of “shame.” The PM said he had taken note of the issue and rushed Union health minister Harsh Vardhan to Bihar, and was in touch with the state government.

The PM also slammed Congress for dismissing all central initiatives and alleged the opposition has stalled important bills in the Rajya Sabha in the past five years due to its numerical majority as it seemed to derive some vicarious pleasure from that.

Modi said Congress wasn’t able to accept defeat and its leaders were trying to find scapegoats in EVMs and by questioning the wisdom of the electorate. He said criticism of schemes were welcome but rejecting something outright is not a “healthy sign.” “To say that you may have won the election but the country has lost out in the process is not an ordinary statement. In Wayanad (Rahul Gandhi’s seat) did Hindustan lose? Did the country lose in Raebareli. (You believe that) country means Congress and Congress means the country. There is a limit to arrogance. You have hurt the people’s sentiment. This kind of insult of the people hurts.”

The PM underlined that he will go to the people in 2024 elections with a new set of achievements. “You said the farmers of this country have been bought. Is the farmer of this country up for sale for Rs 2,000 (one instalment of the scheme).”