AAP demands 'sacking' of culture minister Mahesh Sharma over Dadri remarks

NEW DELHI: AAP today demanded the sacking of Union Minister Mahesh Sharma over his remarks that the Dadri lynching should be seen as an "accident" and alleged that the incident was part of BJP's "communal plot" akin to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots.

AAP leader Ashutosh termed as "sinister" the chain of events leading to the killing of 50-year-old Iqlakh over alleged consumption of beef, and described it as a "conspiracy" by BJP to "break the country".

"Mahesh Sharma should be sacked," he said while condemning the Union minister for terming the incident an "outcome of a misunderstanding".

Claiming that the incident was part of a ploy to polarise society, he further charged that "the run up to the killing clearly shows a design similar to that of the Muzaffarnagar riots (of 2013)".

"Now, BJP is giving it a political colour while the local BJP MLA is justifying it and calling for a panchayat," he claimed while alleging that "BJP and Samajwadi Party play the game together in Uttar Pradesh".

He said that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi projects a certain image of the country in Silicon Valley in the USA, such "heinous crimes" were taking place a few kilometres away from the national capital.

The AAP spokesman alleged that BJP leaders were putting pressure on the investigators to let the criminals go scot- free.

"It's unfortunate that we now have politics over what one eats," he said.

Iqlakh was beaten to death and his 22-year-old son Danish critically injured by a 200-strong mob which barged into their house on Monday night following rumours that the family had consumed beef. Cow slaughter is banned in UP.

Meanwhile, the Yogendra Yadav-led Swaraj Abhiyan, too, alleged that the incident was part of a conspiracy by BJP and its allied organisations to achieve "communal polarisation" ahead of UP Panchayat polls.

"Swaraj Abhiyan requests Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- who generally speaks a lot -- to open his mouth about the incident and help restore some faith in the government," a statement issued by the group said.