Rahul Gandhi (File photo)
NEW DELHI: Expressing horror at the “hate crime” murder of Anjel Chakma in Dehradun, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday blamed the “hate spewing” leadership of BJP for normalising prejudice, which, he said, is being fed for years through toxic content and irresponsible narratives.Assam Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said Chakma was killed after being called a “Chinese” while the oldest tribe of Karbi are facing “Chinese go back” slogans in their own land of Karbi Anglong in Assam, as he accused the governing BJP of failing to celebrate the diversity of the country.Gogoi said there was a 12-day delay in filing the case in Chakma’s murder and the main accused has gone absconding. He demanded an inquiry into lax action and immediate arrest of the accused.The Assam Congress chief said the people of the North-East are facing prejudice on a daily basis across states while “our PM and the entire machinery supporting him is only focused on changing the mindset of India from one that celebrates its diversity to one that focuses only on one identity”.He said BJP govt is not able to understand the anger among the people of the North-East against the Centre. “Neither could they understand it in Manipur, nor in Karbi Anglong. They are also unable to understand the doubts in the minds of the people of the region in the Anjel Chakma case. The PM only uses people as a prop, who are collected during his trips and then sent back after a photo-op,” he said.Gogoi said he too was once asked at Agra where he hailed from and was asked to show his passport. “Only the people of the North-East understand this pain. And, it takes a lot of courage to proudly carry our country’s flag despite such experiences. This is evidence of our tolerance and our patriotism,” he said.Rahul said, “India is built on respect and unity, not fear and abuse. We are a country of love and diversity. We must not become a dead society that looks away while fellow Indians are targeted. We must reflect and confront what we are allowing our country to become.”
