'Attacks on Minorities Continue, Govt Remains Mute Spectator': Rahul Gandhi After Elderly Man Assaulted On Train

Rahul Gandhi said some elements hidden in the form of crowd are openly spreading hate and challenging the rule of law and getting a free hand from the BJP government.

Days after a group of men physically assaulted an elderly man on a train in Maharashtra on the pretext of carrying beef, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday attacked the BJP government over the incident by saying that there have been continuous attacks on minorities, especially Muslims, while the government is a mute spectator. 

Rahul Gandhi said that some hate-filled elements hiding in the form of mob are openly spreading hate and challenging the rule of law. He alleged that these elements are given a free hand by the BJP government.

He said that those who have climbed to power using hatred as a political weapon are continuously establishing a reign of fear across the country. He said that the rule of law should be established by taking the strictest action against such elements.

"Those who are using hatred as a political weapon to climb the ladder of power are continuously establishing a reign of fear across the country. Hate-filled elements hiding in the guise of mob are openly spreading violence, challenging the rule of law. These rioters have been given a free hand by the BJP government, which is why they have gained the audacity to act in this manner," Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.

"Attacks on minorities, especially Muslims, are ongoing, and the government machinery remains a passive observer. Strictest action should be taken against such anarchic elements to uphold the rule of law. Any attack on India's communal unity and the rights of its citizens is an attack on the Constitution, which we will not tolerate at all," he said.

"No matter how much the BJP tries, we will win this historic battle to unite India against hatred, come what may," he added in the post.

The reaction comes after a viral video showed a 72-year-old man in a Mumbai-bound express train getting assaulted by his co-passengers in an express train near Igatpuri in Maharashtra's Nashik district on suspicion that he was carrying beef.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) said that they have initiated a probe after a video of the alleged incident, which took place earlier this week, surfaced on social media.

The video shows a dozen people assaulting a man, Haji Ashraf Munyar, a resident of Jalgaon district, who was travelling to his daughter's house in Kalyan when he was allegedly beaten up by his co-passengers near Igatpuri on suspicion that he was carrying beef.