NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit out at selective outrage by a section of the people, saying political opportunism causes maximum damage to human rights. While he did not identify the people who were “weighing violations of human rights on the scale of political gains and losses”, his remarks assumed significance in the backdrop of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. For, the BJP then launched a blistering attack on the Congress for overlooking atrocities against members of the scheduled castes in Rajasthan.
Modi was speaking at the 28th foundation day ceremony of the National Human Rights Commission.
Hours later, the BJP held a presser to show video clippings of violence against members of the scheduled castes in Congress-ruled Rajasthan. Referring to Modi’s remarks earlier in the day, BJP national general secretary Dushyant Gautam said his (Modi) anguish is justified since victims of the Rajasthan violence want Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to show similar solidarity with them as he’s been doing in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri.
“Since UP is heading for polls, Congress leaders are trooping into Lakhimpur Kheri while ignoring similar atrocities elsewhere,” he charged.The BJP broadside came a day after its top leadership brainstormed its strategy for UP. While the party had earlier hoped that Lakhimpur would be handled locally, the escalating political heat forced the top brass to lead the attack.
Harms India’s image: PM
“In incidents of similar nature, there are some who see violation of human rights in some case, while ignoring the others. Selective outrage is harmful to democracy. It also harms India’s image,” Modi remarked