Rajasthan lynching: Union minister blames 'PM's popularity'

A union minister has blamed the Alwar lynching on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity.

Akbar aka Rakbar was lynched in Lalawandi on Friday on the suspicion that he was smuggling cows. Another man with him was beaten up.

"Killing of people on 'suspicion' is sadly becoming a norm in BJP-ruled states," news reports quoted Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot as saying. Friday's lynching was the third in a year in Alwar.

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The BJP however had a different explanation.

Minister of State for Water Resources Arjun Ram Meghwal blamed it on Prime Minister Modi's popularity.

News reports on Sunday quoted him as saying such incidents would rise as the prime minister's popularity grows. He added that awards were returned (ghar wapsi) around the time of the Bihar elections, that lynchings happened around the time of the UP elections, and that the issue of intolerance will come up again around the time of the 2019 elections.

Meghwal was trying to say that the lynchings were a conspiracy against Modi.

"As Modiji becomes more popular, such incidents will take place," news reports quoted Meghwal as saying. "Because schemes by Modiji are making a difference at the ground level, this is a reaction."

The reports said Meghwal condemned the murder, but also asked people to think about the root cause of the violence.

"Mob lynching should not take place. We condemn it. But... you will have to go back into history, why does this happen? We need to stop that," he said.

Rajasthan BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja meanwhile claimed Saturday that Akbar had been beaten to death by the police and not by a mob.

Three people have so far been arrested in connection with the lynching.