On Saturday, thirteen chief ministers and opposition leaders signed a joint statement condemning recent incidences of hate speech and communal violence in the country, as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence.”
The statement, which was signed by Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal, MK Stalin of Tamil Nadu, Sonia Gandhi of the Congress, Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference, and Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, among others, expressed concern about “the manner in which issues relating to food, dress, faith, festivals, and language are being deliberately used by the ruling establishment to polarise society.”
The collective statement says, “We are shocked by the Prime Minister’s silence, which has failed to speak out against those who propagate bigotry, and those who incite and provoke our society through their words and actions. This silence is an eloquent testimony to the fact that such private armed mobs enjoy the luxury of official patronage.”
The opposition leaders also mentioned the controversy over Muslim schoolgirls wearing hijab in Karnataka and an attempt to restrict non-vegetarian cuisine during Navratri in their letter.
Meanwhile, Shehzad Poonawalla, BJP leader calls the letter “a statement of hypocrisy.”
