PM Narendra Modi: Violence in the name of faith cannot be tolerated

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today again came down heavily on the mob culture. In an indirect reference to the Friday violence after the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape and sexual exploitation case, Modi said that no one has the right to take the law into hands in the name of faith.

"I had said it from the Red Fort (in Independence Day speech) that in the name of faith, violence will not be tolerated. Whether the faith is religious, political or in favour of a individual or a tradition, nobody has the right to take the law into his own hands in the name of faith," the prime minister said during his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio programme.

"I want to assure the country that no country, no government can tolerate anybody taking law into their hands, whether it is an individual or a group. Everybody will have to bow before the law. The law will determine accountability and the guilty will be punished," he asserted.


Followers of Ram Rahim went on the rampage in Panchkula and some other parts of Haryana on last Friday after a CBI court convicted him of rape. Thirty-six people have been killed in the violence so far.

This is not the first time that Modi had condemned the mob violence culture.

The PM had in the past denounced goons killing people in the name of gau raksha.

Also on Friday when violence spread across northen states after Gurmeet Ram Rahim's conviction, Modi tweeted: "The instances of violence today are deeply distressing. I strongly condemn the violence & urge everyone to maintain peace."

(With Inputs from agencies)