Merchant of hate: BJP retorts to Rahul Gandhi after attack on PM Modi over Alwar lynching

The lynching of a Muslim man in Rajasthan’s Alwar on suspicion of cow smuggling and the lackluster action by the local police, which took three hours to take the victim to a hospital just 6 km away, has turned into a political battle between the Opposition Congress and the ruling BJP.

While Congress president Rahul Gandhi termed the incident a brutal example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “New India”, the BJP hit back, calling him a “merchant of hate”.

"Policemen in Alwar took 3 hrs to get a dying Rakbar Khan, the victim of a lynch mob, to a hospital just 6 KM away. Why? They took a tea-break enroute. This is Modi's brutal "New India" where humanity is replaced with hatred and people are crushed and left to die," Gandhi wrote on Twitter.

The BJP was quick to launch a counteroffensive against the Congress president and accused him of playing divisive politics while himself being a “merchant of hate”.

"Stop jumping with joy every time a crime happens, Mr Rahul Gandhi. The state has already assured strict & prompt action. You divide the society in every manner possible for electoral gains & then shed crocodile tears. Enough is Enough. You are a merchant of hate," Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal retorted.

Also Read | Alwar lynching case: This is Modi's 'brutal New India', says Rahul Gandhi

Another Union Minister Smriti Irani, who fought against the Congress president from Amethi in 2014, accused him of rupturing the “social bonds for electoral gains” and doing vulture politics.

"Rahul Gandhi's family presided over the worst form of hate in 1984, Bhagalpur & Nellie & many other instances. It is shameful that he is doing the same through vulture politics. Not a single instance goes by where he doesn't attempt to rupture social bonds for electoral gains," Irani tweeted.

There has been a sharp rise in the incidents of mob lynching in India for the last four years. The issue was even taken up by the Supreme Court which observed that the rise in “mobocracy” in India was harming the social fabric of the country, thus, needed strong action from the states.

The apex court even urged the Centre to look for the possibilities of bringing a new law to punish the offenders.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh sought a detailed response from the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government on Alwar lynching.