Congress on Bulandshahr violence: Is this the change PM Modi promised?

The Congress attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, December 4, over the Bulandshahr violence, asking if "this was the change" he had promised to the country, and demanded an inquiry into the incident under the supervision of a sitting high court judge.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the killing of a policeman during the violence was shameful. He wondered if the police is in such a state in Prime Minister Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's rule then how much terror the common man would be feeling.

"Police official Subodh Singh's killing by a frenzied mob is painful and shameful," Gandhi tweeted.

"If in Modi-Yogi rule, police is in such a state then how much terror the common man would be feeling," he said.

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal slammed Adityanath, alleging he was watching a sound and light show in Gorakhpur with his Chhattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh when the violence happened on Monday.

"Prime Minister Modi before the 2014 elections used to say repeatedly that we will usher in change and also politics of change. I don't know how much change has come," Sibal said at a press conference.

"But from 2014 till now, we have seen not change, but revenge, not change, but fear, not change, but hidden corruption, not change, but politics over Ram, politics over Hanuman... Is this the change that Modi ji had promised. Look what kind of a change he has brought about in Bulandshahr," he said.

Sibal said state agencies and the CBI cannot be trusted for a probe and, therefore, an investigation under the supervision of a sitting high court judge should be conducted.

In Hyderabad, Union minister and BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi too condemned the incident and termed it inhuman. "It is an inhuman act. Whoever is responsible for the criminal, violent act, stern measures should be taken against them." A violent mob had killed police officer, Subodh Kumar Singh, on Monday, December 3, while staging protests over the rumours of cow slaughtering in the area

They set fire to dozens of vehicles, hurled stones and also fired guns at police who retaliated with gunfire. In the violence, Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, the station house officer of Siana, and 20-year-old Sumit Kumar were killed.

Sibal claimed that UP minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has alleged that people from Bajrang Dal, VHP, RSS were behind the planned conspiracy and this resulted in the death of Singh.

Expressing grave concern over the law and order situation in UP, Sibal said, "Your police personnel is being killed by those people who are associated with you." He cited increasing shootouts and killings in UP to stress the "worsening" law and order situation. He alleged that such things are happening wherever the BJP is in power.

Sibal also hit out at Adityanath for giving "poisonous speeches" in Telangana and Rajasthan during poll campaigns.

with PTI inputs