Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan irked on call for lynching debate — again

Opposition leaders' demand for raising the issue of lynching incidents, a day after Rajnath Singh announced formation of a committee to look into the issue, left Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan agitated on Tuesday.

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan with minister Ananth Kumar. (Express Photo/Prem Nath Pandey)

Opposition leaders’ demand for raising the issue of lynching incidents, a day after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced formation of a committee of secretaries and a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into the issue, left Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan agitated on Tuesday. She said the same topic cannot be discussed every day in the House.

Just as Zero Hour commenced at noon, and Mahajan asked the government to lay papers on the table, several leaders of opposition parties, including Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge, protested. Expressing her displeasure, Majahan said that she will allow the leaders to speak, but the House cannot be conducted like this.

The Speaker then asked opposition leaders, who were by then shouting from their seats, whether every leader wanted to raise the same issue. “Har cheez ka politicisation mat karo. Main bol rahi hoon, kal shaam ko mananiye Home Minister ne statement diya, phir bhi aap agar dobara chahte ho, aap dobara agar chahte ho main Home Minister ko kahoongi ke woh is par apna statement dein (do not politicise every topic. The Home Minister had given a statement on this yesterday. If you want again, I will ask him to give a statement.)

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She said, “Sab neta aaj isi par bolo, ho jaane do. Magar roz-roz nahi chalega (every leader must speak on this today, let there be a discussion. But this cannot happen every day.)”

As one opposition member remarked that lynching incidents were taking place every day, thereby justifying another discussion, Mahajan, still unimpressed, said, “Ho raha hai toh kya karein? Yahan se kuchh toh ho raha hai…jitna woh kar sakte hain. Ab aap bologe saza do toh yeh toh court ka kaam hai (what can we do if it is happening every day? Something is being done from here too…whatever can be done. Now you will say punish them, but that is the court’s job.)”

As Kharge got up to speak, she told the Congress leader, “Aap bolo, koi baat nahi. Aapka bhi pet bhare bolne se (you speak today, it’s OK. You also get satisfaction from speaking.)”

Kharge demanded that along with the committee and GoM announced by the Home Minister to look into these incidents, there should also be an investigation by a sitting judge of Supreme Court.

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CPI(M)’s Mohammad Salim said that such incidents of “street justice” by the mob — whether based on rumours of child-lifting or by cow vigilantes — are of concern. AIADMK’s M Thambi Durai also spoke, and sought the Centre’s intervention, even though law and order is a state subject.

In reply, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the government is taking the issue seriously. He said this is not about the last two to four years, but such incidents have been taking place for years. He reiterated that the biggest cases of lynching in India were during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

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