New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "angry" with party leaders who made incendiary statements in the aftermath of the Dadri killing over beef rumours and party chief Amit Shah today pulled up those involved, sources told NDTV.
Mr Shah reportedly warned them against making such comments and conveyed the PM's views to them, sources said.
Those summoned included Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister Mahesh Sharma, party lawmaker Sangeet Som and controversial party leaders Sakshi Maharaj and Sanjay Baliyan. The leaders' words had triggered controversy, with 42 authors returning their Sahitya Akademi Awards, blaming the mood of "intolerance" in the country.
The leaders however maintained it was a routine engagement."I came to discuss regional issues and was not asked for any clarification," said Sakshi Maharaj. But when pressed about the agenda, he added, "Every action has a reaction, I had taken action so there was a reaction".
The Prime Minister, who was criticised by the opposition for his silence on the issue, had spoken out at a rally in Bihar on October 8, a day after President Pranab Mukherjee called for amity. While the PM did not mention Dadri, he had referred to the President's words and underscored that Hindus and Muslims should fight poverty and not each other.
"For politics and petty gains, people are making irresponsible statements. Don't take them seriously. Even if Narendra Modi himself says something like that, don't listen to him," he had said. A day later, he had mentioned Dadri, calling the incident "unfortunate".
But yesterday, key BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal had demanded that the party leadership must take strict action against those have made "irresponsible statements" on Dadri.
On September 28, a 52-year-old Muslim man was lynched by a mob in Dadri over rumours of cow slaughter and beef consumption. Forensic tests later proved that the meat found stored in his home was mutton and not beef.
But in the aftermath of the incident, Union Minister Mahesh Sharma described the lynching as an "accident". Party lawmaker Sangeet Som had visited Dadri, where he claimed that "cow killers" were rescued by the Akhilesh Yadav government. Mr Khattar was quoted as saying that Muslims here must give up beef and Sakshi Maharaj had demanded death penalty for cow slaughter.
The opposition Congress mocked the BJP's move, with party spokesperson Sanjay Jha tweeting,