Concrete action needed, not mere posturing: Congress tells PM Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of selective amnesia and not taking appropriate action in the wake of the Dadri lynching, Congress today said that it is not posturing that is needed but concrete action.

"Narendra Modi is suffering from selective amnesia. He has forgotten that he is the Prime Minister of entire country and safety and protecting the life of 125 crore citizens of India is his responsibility," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

The Congress leader also sought to know whether the Prime Minister had spoken to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav after the Dadri incident.

"Will the Prime Minister tell the nation what action did he take against Mahesh Sharma, his minister? What action did he take against another minister Sanjeev Balyan? What action did he take against BJP leaders of the ilk Sangeet Som as also Sadhvi Prachi and others?" Surjewala asked.

The Congress spokesperson's remarks came after Modi in an interview accused the opposition of indulging in pseudo secularism and politics of polarisation and described the Dadri lynching incident and the cancellation of Ghulam Ali's concert in Mumbai as "unfortunate" but said his government has nothing to do with them.

Criticising the Prime Minister, Surjewala said that he selectively forgets that BJP government is in power in Maharashtra where Ali's concert was cancelled or Sudheendra Kulkarni's face was smeared with ink.

He also added that artists of the entire nation are up in arms against attack on rationalists.

"So Prime Minister sahib, posturing alone would not do. Concrete action will," Surjewala said.

JD(U) president Sharad Yadav also criticised the Prime Minister saying that while he is quick to speak on the victories of the cricket team, he was speaking on the Dadri incident after much delay. He described the Dadri lynching as a "Talibani act".