PM Modi pitches for communal harmony, says `Hindus, Muslims should fight poverty, not each other`

PM Narendra Modi on Thursday broke his silence on the Dadri lynching over alleged beef eating, and said that it was time to put an end to communal politics.

Nawada: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday broke his silence on the Dadri lynching over alleged beef eating, and said that it was time to put an end to communal politics.

“Every community needs to live together. Hindus and Muslims should decide whether they want to fight against each other or against poverty,” Modi said at a rally in Nawada, Bihar.

The PM said President Pranab Mukherjee's message has shown us the way.

Speaking on Wednesday in the backdrop of the Dadri lynching incident, the President had said that the core values of diversity, tolerance and plurality of Indian civilisation must be kept in mind and cannot be allowed to be wasted.

"I firmly believe that we cannot allow the core values of our civilisation to be wasted and the core values are what over the years the civilisation celebrated diversity, promoted and advocated tolerance, endurance and plurality,” Mukherjee said.

Stressing that “we should put an end to communal politics”, Modi appealed to everyone “not to listen to hate speeches”.

He further said that the nation must stay united.

The PM and President’s remarks came in the wake of lynching of a 50-year-old Muslim man in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh by an enraged mob over rumours that he had stored and consumed beef, which has sparked an outrage across the country.