There Were More Lynchings From 2011 to 2013, Nobody said a Word: Amit Shah

New Delhi: BJP President Amit Shah on Saturday came down heavily on those raising questions over the current spate of lynchings, saying "there were lynchings in 2011, 2012, 2013 as well, but nobody posed a question".

“I do not want to undermine lynching incidents, by presenting a comparison. But in 2011, 2012, 13, there were more lynchings each year than in these three years (of NDA rule). But questions were not asked then. How are questions being asked now?” IANS quoted him as saying.

Shah was addressing a party programme in Goa capital Panaji. Questioning journalists who are raising their voice, BJP President asked: "What is this fashion? I can understand about the citizens but why are journalists getting caught in such a flow?"

Shah said that Mohammad Akhlaq - who was killed by a frenzied mob for allegedly storing beef in his refrigerator - died in Uttar Pradesh when Samajwadi Party was in power. "It was their responsibility and yet there is a protest against Modi government," Shah added.

Assuaging the apprehensions of the minority community, Shah asserted that his party was committed to governance and treated all the communities equally.

"As far as the issue of beef ban is concerned, it is not the BJP which has imposed that. There is already a prohibition on the slaughter of cows in Goa (gau hatya bandi)," he said.

Responding to a query on the minorities under the BJP rule, Shah said the party has been in power in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where the population of minorities was more than the overall population of Goa.

"Gujarat, MP, Rajasthan have minorities more than the overall population of Goa. There has been no problems in those states," he said.

Shah also raised the pitch against the separatists in Kashmir, saying for the first time they were facing the heat and added that the security forces would soon take control of the situation in the Valley.

"You can't assess the situation in Kashmir in the backdrop of the happenings of the last 4-5 months. Kashmir has been witnessing these issues since 1989," he said.

"If you look at the scenario there since 1989, you will see certain phases running for months, which will make you feel that Kashmir has gone out of our hands. But Kashmir has not gone till now and will never go," he said.