Rajnath Singh ticks off ministers

VK Singh and Kiren Rijiju have been in the news for the wrong reasons in the past few days

Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, on Friday up-braided two ministers for speaking out of turn, saying those who were in power had to be extra careful about the kind of statements they made.

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

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

VK Singh found himself at the centre of a row over commentsthat the Centre cannot be blamed if somebody throws a stone at a dog inconnection with Ballabhgarh assault on a Dalit family  in which twochildren were killed. Rijiju, Minister of State for Home, said a few days back thathe agreed with a former Lt Governor of Delhi who had once remarked that northIndians “take pride in and enjoy” breaking rules.

VK Singh’s statement set off a storm with most politicalparties demanding his resignation and the Aam Aadmi Party filing a court case.

In a press conference, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawatidemanded Singh be jailed for his offensive remarks.The BJP is still assessing how Singh’s remarks will affectthe sentiment in Bihar where two rounds of polling is to take place next week.