New Delhi: The Congress on Monday hit back at the BJP after a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable killed four people inside Jaipur Express train saying that the genie of hate is now out of the bottle and it will take a lot of collective effort to put it back in.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday termed the gruesome incident a “terror attack targeted at Muslims”, and said it is the product of continuous anti-Muslim hate speech and the “unwillingness” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put an end to it.
The constable fired from his automatic weapon, killing a senior RPF colleague and three passengers aboard the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express shortly after 5 am on Monday, according to officials.
The deceased passengers were identified as Abdul Kadarbhai Mohammed Hussain Bhanpurwala (48), a resident of Nalasopara in Palghar, Asgar Abbas Sheikh (48), a resident of Madhubani in Bihar, and one Sadar Mohammed Hussain.
“This is a terror attack that specifically targeted Muslims. It is the product of continuous anti-Muslim hate speech & unwillingness of @narendramodi to put an end to it. Will the accused #RPFJawan become a future BJP candidate? Will his bail be supported by the govt? Will he be garlanded when released? Happy to be proven wrong #JaipurMumbaiExpress,” Owaisi tweeted referring to a video by another person circulating on Twitter.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “The cold-blooded murders carried out by a RPF constable is the result of a hyper-charged and highly polarised news media and social media atmosphere. The genie of hate is now out of the bottle and it will take a lot of collective effort to put it back in.”
“The message of the Bharat Jodo Yatra was aimed to dial down the hate and violence spreading due to the ideology of the RSS, and the politics of prejudice and polarisation of the BJP. Its top leadership is complicit in damaging the social fabric of India. The vast majority of Indians will soon reject this politics of hatred and vengeance,” he added.
RJD leader and Rajya Sabha member Manoj Kumar Jha said, “A #RPF jawan named Chetan Singh killed four people in the Jaipur-Mumbai train. Among the dead, three are Muslims and one is a member of the tribal community. Chetan Singh may be declared mentally unstable/sick from tomorrow. Believe me, this mental illness has now spread widely in our society.”
