Touching upon the issue of communal riots in the country, the Prime Minister said that during the current year some states witnessed a substantial increase in the number of communal incidents.
Terming the communal clash in Muzaffarnagar and the adjoining districts of Western Uttar Pradesh in September as the “most worrisome”, Singh said “it sounds like a cliché but is necessary to say that we simply cannot afford such a state of affairs to continue.
“Our law and order agencies must, therefore, ensure that trivial or local issues are not exploited by vested interests to flame communal passions. And once disturbances occur they must be tackled with the utmost firmness and speed, without prejudice, fear or favour,” he said.
The Prime Minister asked the police chiefs to ensure that their forces act in the required manner in preventing communal tensions and dealing with them once they do take place.
Singh also drew the attention of misuse of the social media and SMSes to fan violence during the recent disturbances in Muzaffarnagar, and also last year, when disinformation spread through these means contributed to a mass exodus of people belonging to the North-East from southern states like Karnataka.
“It is widely accepted that social media facilitates exchange of knowledge, information and ideas and can be used for constructive purposes. Therefore, in preventing its misuse, we need to find creative solutions which do not unreasonably curb the freedom of expression and the ease of communication that social media does provide,” he said.
