Udaipur beheading: BJP blames appeasement, Gehlot seeks PM's remark; what Owaisi, Rahul, Kejriwal said on tailor murder

Udaipur beheading: The grizzly murder of a tailor in Rajasthan's Udaipur has sparked a massive political row. The BJP has blamed the Rajasthan government's "policy of appeasement" for the beheading of the man, identified as Kanhaiya Lal. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, on the other hand, has demanded a statement on the violence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi have appealed to the masses to maintain peace and communal harmony. 

Who said what on Udaipur beheading 

Senior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje blamed the Ashok Gehlot government's "policies of incitement and appeasement" for the killing.

"With the brutal murder of innocent youth in Udaipur, it has become clear that due to the instigation and appeasement of the state government, the morale of the criminals is high. Due to this policy of the state government, a situation of communal frenzy and violence has arisen in the state. Those people and organisations behind this incident should be exposed and arrested immediately," Raje said. 

Ashok Gehlot called the incident sad and shameful. He claimed the country is gripped by what he called an atmosphere of tension. 

"Why doesn't the prime minister and Amit Shah address the nation? There is tension among people. The PM should address the public and say that such violence will not be tolerated and appeal for peace," he said, promising strict action against the culprit. 

Rahul Gandhi said he was stunned by the incident. "Barbarism in the name of religion cannot be tolerated. Those who tried to spread terror by committing the demonic act, must be severely punished. We need to defeat hate. I appeal to the masses to maintain peace and communal harmony," he tweeted in Hindi.

Arvind Kejriwal said what took place in Udaipur was gruesome. "This brutality has no place in a civilised society. We condemn the incident. Those behind the act should get strict punishment," he tweeted. 

"I condemn the gruesome murder in Udaipur Rajasthan. There can be no justification for it. Our party's consistent stand is to oppose such violence. No one can take law into their own hands. We demand that the state government takes the strictest possible action," Owaisi tweeted.

Akhilesh Yadav said the entire society will have to come together to prevent the country from being destroyed by hate.

The two attackers -- identified as Riaz Akhtari and Ghos Mohammad -- disguised themselves as customers and allegedly attacked Kanhaiya Lal when he was taking their measurements. Akhtari allegedly murdered Lal whereas Ghos Mohammad shot the video of the crime. The duo later posted multiple videos on social media where they claimed they had killed the man to avenge an insult to Islam. They also threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kanhaiya Lal had been recently arrested over allegedly objectionable remarks on social media in support of the suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. On June 15, he told the local police he had been receiving threat calls. He was out on bail.

The Rajasthan administration suspended the internet for 24 hours to prevent communal violence. They have also imposed Section 144 for a month. An indefinite curfew has been imposed in the city.

The central government, meanwhile, has sent an NIA team to investigate the terror angle to the crime. 

With inputs from PTI, ANI