Unfair to call Jharkhand a hub of mob killing: PM Narendra Modi

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed pain over the death of a 24-year-old man who was mercilessly thrashed by a mob in Jharkhand last week; but mentioned that it is not right to insult the state - which is ruled by the BJP - by calling it a "hub of lynching".

"Some people in the Rajya Sabha are calling Jharkhand a hub of lynching. Is this fair? Why are they insulting a state? None of us have the right to insult the state of Jharkhand," the prime minister said in his reply to Motion of Thanks on President's address in the upper house of Parliament.

He mentioned that whether it is Jharkhand, or West Bengal or Kerala, incidents of violence should be treated in a similar manner.

The comments from PM over mob lynching came a day after Rahul Gandhi slammed silence of PM Modi over the issue.

"The brutal lynching of this young man by a mob in Jharkhand is a blot on humanity. The cruelty of the police who held this dying boy in custody for 4 days is shocking as is the silence of powerful voices in the BJP ruled Central & State Govts. (sic)" Mr Gandhi had tweeted on Tuesday evening.

The death caused ripples in parliament on Monday, with senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad saying that they did not want a New India. "Please give us back the Old India.. There was no violence, no lynching... Give us that India where all religions are equal," he said amid applause from opposition members.