Uproar in LS over lynchings, Tharoor says PM's 'silence is license' for such acts to continue

New Delhi, July 19: The Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed a massive uproar after Home Minister Rajnath Singh's statement on mob lynching incidents across the country. Congress staged a walkout from Lok Sabha in protest against Home Minister's statement.

"The Home Minister's statement in Lok Sabha on mob lynching was not satisfactory at all, that is why we staged a walkout from the house. This is not a game of ping pong that states and Centre keep shifting responsibilities," Congress MP Shashi Tharoor told the media.

"We were very disappointed with Rajnath Singh's statement in the Parliament. Hence, we decided to move out. The Prime Minister does not respond when a person is killed or lynched. His silence is a license for people to continue with such acts," he added.

Singh today addressed the Lok Sabha on the incidents of mob lynching incidents across the country. Blaming fake news and false information on social media, Singh put the onus of maintaining law and order on the state governments. He also added that the Centre has requested social media operators to install checks in their system to curb the issue.

"It's not like lynching has been happening only in the last few years. However, whoever is killed, it is a worry for all governments. I condemn mob lynchings of and in all forms," he said.

Opposition members raised slogans against Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha for garlanding men convicted of lynching a meat trader in Jharkhand.
They raised slogans such as "stop garlanding convicts" as Sinha responded to the question. Sinha, however, continued to speak.

Recently in yet another incident of lynching, a Hyderabad-based software engineer was killed by a mob that fell for WhatsApp rumours of child-lifters lurking in Karnataka's Bidar district.