Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh speaks in the Lok Sabha on 'no-confidence motion' during the Monsoon Session... Read More

NEW DELHI: Countering persistent attacks from the opposition over mob lynchings, home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the 1984 anti-Sikh riots was the “biggest” such incident. He also questioned the unity among opposition parties, which he said were locked in regional squabbles.

Speaking in the debate on the no-trust motion, Singh hit out at Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for his “Hindu Pakistan” remark and said, “Where do they (Congress) want to take the country and what does it want India to become? Here, there is talk of Hindu Taliban . India is the only country where minorities are prospering. Do they not want such an India?”

Referring to lynching incidents, Singh said the Centre would provide all assistance required but state governments should take stringent steps to curb such incidents. “The biggest incident of mob lynching happened in 1984,” Singh said, referring to the anti-Sikh riot in the aftermath of PM Indira Gandhi ’s assassination on October 31, 1984.

Singh said, “Who are you bringing a no-confidence against? The appeal of the PM is such that several people gave up gas subsidies after he urged them to do so. They are bringing a no-trust motion against the government but they (the opposition) do not trust each other. And who is their leader… when it comes to talking about the leadership, then they lose steam.”

Expressing displeasure at the opposition’s move to bring a no-trust motion despite numbers favouring the NDA, Singh said BJP never thought of doing something similar while in opposition from 2004-2014 as it was convinced that then PM Manmohan Singh was safe and also because it considered opposition to be a legitimate part of democracy, which needed to play it role.

Taking a dig at Congress, Singh said former PM Rajiv Gandhi had ridiculed BJP for having two MPs in Lok Sabha in 1984. “One should not be arrogant as time changes and the same party (BJP) today has a majority in Parliament,” he added.

