DHAKA: India prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said dealing with communal riots was the primary responsibility of the states and called upon them to stem communal incidents in the bud and deal sternly with the rioters, irrespective of their clout or political affiliations.

Addressing the National Integration Council (NIC) meet here, Singh said the event had assumed significance in view of the recent Muzaffarnagar riots that killed 50 people and left over a 100 injured.

‘Some communal disturbances have been reported lately. This year riots were reported from Kishtwar in J&K and Nawada in Bihar, while Hyderabad has seen intermittent communal trouble in the last couple of years. UP has reported many such incidents in the recent months,’ he underlined, even as UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav looked on, reports The Times of India.

‘It seems anti-national forces are succeeding in deepening the communal divide by taking advantage of small misunderstandings. These forces are inimical to our democratic institutions. We are determined to fight them firmly,’ said the Prime Minister.

Singh rejected the argument that communal incidents could benefit or harm the prospects of certain political party in elections.

‘This argument is most unfortunate. In reality, communal enmity does not benefit anyone but could threaten our national identity as a civilised society,’ he told the NIC that comprises chief ministers, Union ministers, leaders of various political parties, business leaders and members of the intelligentsia.

BDST: 1634 HRS, SEPT 23, 2013
RoR/GCP