Even as violence and unrest continued in northeast Delhi and the death toll climbed to 22, Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared to be fishing in troubled waters as he condemned the incidents of violence and slammed the RSS.
In a series of tweets, the Pakistan prime minister said warned that anyone targeting minorities in his country would be dealt with strictly. "I want to warn our people that anyone in Pakistan targeting our non-Muslim citizens or their places of worship will be dealt with strictly. Our minorities are equal citizens of this country," he said.
Referring to his speech in UN General Assembly last year in which he warned the international community against ignoring the situation in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, he claimed that 200 million Muslims in India are being targeted, and made an appeal to the world community to "act now.” “As I had predicted in my address to UN GA last yr, once the genie is out of the bottle the bloodshed will get worse. IOJK was the beginning. Now 200 million Muslims in India are being targeted. The world community must act now,” he tweeted.
Further, he said today we are seeing how the RSS ideology is taking over in India and added that whenever a racist ideology takes over, it leads to bloodshed. "Today in India we are seeing the Nazi-inspired RSS ideology take over a nuclear-armed state of over a billion people. Whenever a racist ideology based on hatred takes over, it leads to bloodshed."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, had appealed for peace and brotherhood. Asserting that it was important calm was restored at the earliest, Modi said on Twitter, "Had an extensive review on the situation prevailing in various parts of Delhi. Police and other agencies are working on the ground to ensure peace and normalcy."
Calling the situation in northeast Delhi alarming, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Army should be called in as police is "unable" to establish control.
(With PTI inputs)