The incident of a teacher directing other children to thrash their classmate on the basis of his religious identity in Uttar Pradesh is a “disturbing result of the hate-filled politics of the BJP-RSS,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on August 26.
Condemning the incident, Mr. Kharge said such incidents tarnished the country’s global image, and are against the Constitution.
On Friday, a video in which a woman teacher in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district asked students in her class to slap another student on the basis of his religious identity was widely shared on social media. The U.P. Police have confirmed that the controversial video is from a school in Khubbapur village.
“The manner in which a teacher made a child thrashed by other children on the basis of religious discrimination in a school in U.P. is a disturbing result of the hate-filled politics of the BJP-RSS. Such incidents tarnish our global image. This is against the Constitution,” Mr. Kharge posted on Twitter, formerly X.
“The poison of the divisive thinking of the ruling party has spread so much in the society that on the one hand an education teacher, Tripta Tyagi, is teaching the lesson of religious hatred since childhood and on the other hand, the RPF (Railway Protection Force) jawan, Chetan Kumar, gets determined to take away the lives of innocent people in the name of religion,” he added.
Mr. Kharge, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said any kind of religious fanaticism and violence is against the country. “To spare the guilty is a crime against the country,” he said.
Mr. Kharge said immediate and strict action should be taken, and punishment should be given, so that it served as a deterrent.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too have blamed the BJP over the school incident.
“This is the same kerosene spread by the BJP which has set every corner of India on fire,” Mr. Gandhi said in a post on X, adding, ”Children are the future of India - all of us together will have to teach them love, not hate.”
“What kind of classroom, what kind of society do we want to give to our future generations? One where there is talk of going to the moon or one that builds walls of hatred,” Ms. Vadra asked.
Congress social media head Supriya Shrinate alleged that instead of taking firm action against the teacher, the government had ordered X to remove the video from its platform.
At a press briefing, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the party would not allow the “poison of hatred” to affect future generations.
“The business of hate has to stop now. My religion, my culture and my country doesn’t allow it. Questions will be asked of the people who thrust this hate on us. A section of the media will also have to share responsibility for creating such an atmosphere of hate,” Mr. Khera said.
