‘Cow vigilantism, hate crimes put state in bad light, won’t tolerate such acts’
Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje has admitted that recent crimes, including those by cow vigilantes, against minorities in the state show Rajasthan in a bad light, but stressed that firm action will be taken against those behind the violence.
“The law of the land prevails in Rajasthan, and the government will ensure the culprits are brought to book,” she said.
In April, ‘gau rakshaks’ (cow vigilantes) brutally thrashed five cattle traders in Alwar leading to the death of one, 55- year-old Pehlu Khan, in a hospital days later.
Recently, the desert state hit the headlines again when a video — showing Sikh men allegedly being thrashed by villagers in Ajmer —surfaced.
“Rajasthan cannot be singled out. Such incidents are happening across India. But this government will not tolerate such crimes as it shows the state in a bad light,” Raje said.
She said the administration acted “swiftly” and the perpetrators were arrested in the Pehlu Khan case.
The CM, who is due to complete her term next year, said, “We do not discriminate among people on any lines. In less than a week, the accused in the honour killing of a Kerala engineer were arrested and an inquiry was also ordered into the Ajmer incident.”
In a suspected case of honour killing, 28-year-old Amit Nair, a civil engineer, was shot dead last week allegedly by his in-laws here for marrying a Rajasthani woman. “Though our government did its part, the Kerala government is yet to speak out on the killings of BJP and RSS workers,” said Raje.
The CM said she planned to make development her party’s poll plank for the state Assembly elections.
The Centre and the state were actively working for the people, she said, adding that the ruling BJP was “an active organisation”. The state had seen a “rapid” growth in every sector in the last four years, she said.
“These factors will be crucial in ensuring our victory in the polls,” Raje said, adding that the BJP government had “inherited discoms crippled by debts running into crores from the erstwhile Congress government.” Bailing them out to put the crucial sector back on track was a “massive task”, she said.
Citing an example of the coordination between the Centre and the state, Raje said, “Rajasthan’s road network by 2018 will be of 30,000 km. The state has already constructed 21,000 km of roads since the BJP formed the government in the state.”