PM, BJP leaders must speak up to ease communal tension: RJD MP Manoj Jha

The country is witnessing a battle of ideologies after the Udaipur incident in which a tailor, Kanhaiya Lal, was brutally murdered for supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and the opposition party RJD has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make an appeal to the people to maintain peace. Speaking to IANS, Manoj Jha, a member of the Rajya Sabha from the RJD, said, "An appeal by Prime Minister Modi will make a big difference in the country."

Manoj Jha said, "The Udaipur incident brings shame to all of us collectively. It is very easy to say take action against those people and give the harshest punishment. But for me and for my team, the matter of utmost concern is why did this happen in the last eight-nine years? Even when the country became Independent, we did not see such pictures, then from where so much poison is being mixed in the last few years."

"Now every street has turned into a border, the villages are divided, the streets are divided, who is responsible for this? We cannot even talk to any person with an open mind, this kind of cruelty and violence is happening daily," he stated.

Responding to a question, he said, "The BJP is at the Centre and also in many states, they have a strong cabinet, can't they issue a diktat? You took action when there were protests in foreign countries. That's why I am saying that the source of this disease is somewhere else, its roots are somewhere else."

"You cannot destroy the poison tree that has grown in this country by cutting down a branch. The bigotry of one religion is feeding the bigotry of another religion," he said.

Echoing Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's views that the Prime Minister should make an appeal, Manoj Jha said, "100 percent, he should appeal, people's houses are burning, thorny walls have come up. It is the duty of the Prime Minister to come and appeal to the people."

"Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas are being talked about, then where is its axis? One appeal of the Prime Minister will make a lot of difference in the country. On the contrary, I see many big leaders of the BJP fan rumours without thinking how far its impact will go," Manoj Jha said.