New Delhi: In the wake of incidents of hate speech and communal violence across the country, leaders of 13 opposition parties expressed concern and issued a joint appeal on Saturday.
In a joint statement issued by opposition leaders including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand counterparts MK Stalin and Hemant Soren, he appealed to the people to maintain peace and harmony. Demanded stringent punishment for the perpetrators of such communal violence.
Opposition leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, MK Stalin, Hemant Soren, Tejashwi Yadav and others issued a joint appeal to the people to maintain peace and harmony and give stringent punishment to the perpetrators of communal violence. pic.twitter.com/o4AnWlR9Gy
— ANI (@ANI) 16 April 2022
Flagging the way issues of food, dress, faith, festivals and language are being used by the ruling establishment to polarize society, the statement said, “We are shocked at the silence of the Prime Minister. Speak out against the words and actions of those who have failed, those who propagate bigotry and who instigate and inflame our society with their words and actions. This silence is a clear proof that such private armed mobs enjoys official patronage.”
Emphasizing their resolve to work together to strengthen communal bonds, the leaders wrote, “We reiterate our commitment to fight and confront the virulent ideologies that are trying to divide our society.”
“We appeal to all sections of the people to maintain peace and defeat the sinister purpose of those who wish to intensify communal polarisation. We call upon all our party units across the country to work independently and jointly to maintain peace and harmony.”
Notably, some incidents of communal violence were reported from some parts of the country on the occasion of Ram Navami on 10 April.