Can't get away by saying statement misinterpreted: Rajnath on VK Singh's remarks

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday disapproved of ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders making controversial statements, saying extra caution has to be taken by those who are in power.

“We can’t get away by saying that statements were misinterpreted or twisted. We need to be extra careful while putting forth our views,” he told reporters in the wake of controversy over statements by Union Minister VK Singh and Kiren Rijiju on two separate issues.

“I feel that as leaders of the ruling party, we must all be extra cautious while making any statement,” he said.

Singh found himself at the centre of a row over comments that the Centre cannot be blamed if somebody throws a stone at a dog in connection with the Faridabad Dalit burning incident in which two children were killed.

Rijiju, the minister of state for home, had said a few days back that he agreed with a former Lt Governor of Delhi who had once remarked that north Indians “take pride in and enjoy” breaking rules.

The home minister said that ministers and BJP leaders must ensure that their statements reflected proper perspective and did not communicate any wrong message.

“We should also ensure that there is no possibility of our statements being interpreted the wrong way or sending out an incorrect message,” he said.

Singh said his ministerial colleagues -- Minister of State for External Affairs Minister Gen (retd) Singh and Rijiju -- had already given clarifications over their statement and that matters should come to an end.

Singh’s dog analogy on Thursday as he tried to shield the Centre from criticism over the Faridabad Dalit burning incident kicked up a huge political row.

“The government cannot be held responsible if somebody stones a dog,” he had said.

As a row erupted over the remarks, demands were made for his ouster by the opposition, which sought registration of a criminal case against him under the Scheduled Castes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and drew parallels with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “puppy” remark in connection with Gujarat riots that had been construed as being directed against Muslims.

The former army chief later gave a clarification and appealed to the media not to deliberately twist his words “out of context”.

Rijiju triggered a row on Wednesday with his comments.

“I was witness to a statement by one of the Lt Governors of Delhi some years back. He had stated that people of north India enjoy breaking the rules and by evening he was forced to apologise. But I believe what he said was right,” he had said on the sidelines of the inauguration of a think tank on police-related subjects.

Rijiju, too, had on Thursday given a clarification that his comment was not directed at one section but was applicable to the entire society.