On the 42nd anniversary of the declaration of Emergency in 1975, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the need for eternal vigilance as the price of liberty. But this is perhaps one-sided considering what happened to the teenager, Junaid Khan who was killed in a train as he was going home after doing his Eid shopping. The murder was said to have been caused by a dispute over seats. But the aggressors defended themselves saying that Junaid Khan and his companions ate beef which made them anti-national. The Prime Minister should be asked if eternal vigilance should not be applicable to members of the minority community who are often victims of such atrocities. In actual fact, he and BJP Chief Ministers of states preserve a convenient silence over such mob murders. Rajasthan appears to be the only exception. The BJP government at the Centre should be particularly concerned as these murderers incited by communal passions argue that they are carrying out the wishes of the government and even of Prime Minister Modi.
Why do the Prime Minister and his party not come out in the open with articulate condemnation of such heinous acts? They should make it clear that the perpetrators of such crimes are not doing so in pursuance of their policy. Action to punish the killers should be swift and drastic. There should be no attack on faiths, ethnicities and castes. The atrocity that blighted the traditional Eid Milan this year is tragic and shameful and no better than the repressive policy under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Emergency. The BJP government has to answer for the untimely death of Junaid Khan.