Srinagar, October 19, 2015: Social activist and Arya Samaj scholar Swami Agnivesh, while condemning the recent killings over beef in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir, lashed out at Hindutva right wingers for communal flare ups.

“Members of the Sangh Parivar including Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the VHP’s militant youth wing, the Bajrang Dal have been given a free hand to lynch Muslims in India. A human life is more precious than a cow and the deeds of these communal elements force me to call himself an Arya Samaj leader only and not a Hindu,” Agnivesh told CNS Kashmir.

Swami Agnivesh said that the RSS, BJP, VHP and Bajrang Dal activists have started taking the law of land in their own hands.

“These communal elements feel they are free to do anything. In Jammu and Kashmir, they have BJP at their back and in Delhi, the RSS is there to defend them,” he said.

“It is really sorry to state that instead of informing police about the alleged bovine smuggling, these communal elements take law in their own hands and indulge in heinous crimes against the humanity. The killers of Akhlaq, Nouman and Zahid Rasool should not be spared at any cost. These killers have not done anything good to their religion instead they have tarnished its image,” he said.

Swami Agnivesh said that RSS had developed an army of its activists to safeguard its interests and now the same army of men have turned against them and refusing to obey their commands.

“RSS has now no control over its men with communal mind set-up. These RSS men take pleasure in lynching minorities in India,” he said.

“The recent killings of three Muslims over beef row represent a clear failure on the part of both the central and the state governments to ensure that such communities enjoy the full protection of their constitutional rights to freedom of religion and equal protection under the law. Despite the existence of comprehensive legislation to address the problem of religious intolerance and communal violence, the government has failed to prosecute the offending individuals and organizations; instead, it has, in many cases, offered tacit support and indirect justification for the attacks,” Agnivesh added.

- tcn