Another jumla: Sibal on Shah's 'no riots under BJP rule' remark

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Monday termed as "another jumla" Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks that riots don't take place under Bharatiya Janata Party rule, and cited the number of instances of communal violence under a BJP government at the Centre and in some states.

At a public meeting in Hisua falling under Bihar's Nawada district, Shah said, "Let Prime Minister Narendra Modi return to power in 2024 with majority, giving 40 out of 40 seats (in Bihar), and help BJP form its own government in the assembly polls in 2025. The job of straightening rioters by hanging them upside down ('ulta latka kar') will be done by the BJP."

"Riots don't take place under our rule," he said.

Reacting to the remarks, Sibal said, "Amit Shah: 'Riots don't take place under our rule.' Yet another jumla (rhetoric)."

The former union minister said, "5415 communal riots reported between 2014-2020 (NCRB data). 2019 alone – 25 communal riots UP(9), Maharashtra (4), MP(2). Communal violence: Haryana(2021) highest cases, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh (April 2022)".

In the wake of communal violence in West Bengal and Bihar, Sibal had on Sunday questioned the "silence" of Prime Minister Modi over the matter, and said "let not 2024 general elections be the reason" for the violence.

Sibal's remarks had come after communal violence rocked Sasaram and Bihar Sharif towns during Ram Navami festivities.

Sibal, who was a Union minister during the UPA 1 and 2 regimes, quit the Congress in May last year and was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an independent member with the Samajwadi Party's support. He recently floated a non-electoral platform 'Insaaf' aimed at fighting injustice.