Welfare Party of India (WPI) held a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on 13 July, demanding ‘effective steps to ensure no more mob lynching’ in the country. The protestors consisting of a large number of people marched at Jantar Mantar from one corner to another, shouting slogans against the ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), cow vigilantes and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). Political activists from different groups, including Prem Singh, president Socialist Party of India, A Raghvan from Lok Raj Sangathan, Mohit K Pandey, JNUSU President and national President of the party Dr. SQR Ilyas took part in the protest.
In the memorandum addressed to the President of India Pranab Mukherjee, Dr. Ilyas expressed grave concern over communal disharmony and mob lynching. Referring to the incidents of mob lynching across the country, he demanded SIT probe into all the incidents of mob lynching. He also called upon the President to direct the centre and state governments to take effective steps to ensure no more mob lynching and declare cow vigilantism as an anti-national terror act.
“As the first citizen and constitutional head, we seek your intervention to save the nation from going towards total chaos, to ensure that the Constitution and its values are being protected and the most important of all to instil a sense of confidence and security in the minds of the people irrespective of their faiths,” the memorandum reads.
“When the government would not steer the Constitutional order and it would not believe in the rules and regulations of the civilized society, mobocracy will run the country. Mobocracy is the result of the policy on which the government runs the country. These mobs are killing writer Kalburgi and social reformer Pansare along with minorities and Dalits. This is not the question of the government because the government itself is patronising it and letting it happen. The question is that the challenge has been thrown by the government before the Indian society which has a Constitution and civilization; it is up to the society whether it wants to be run as per the Constitution and civilization,” said Prem Singh, who had been on hunger strike against mob lynching, while talking to Radiance.
“The Prime Minister who gives statements ‘not to kill Dalits but kill him’ does not take any step to stop such incidents. No efforts are being made to stop them. That’s the reason these incidents have become common across the country. These fake cow protectors who smuggle cows and cow beef murder those who serve cows. All the governments whether it is central or state are mute spectators of these incidents,” said Siraj Talib, president of WPI, Delhi.