Be careful while making statements, Rajnath tells ministers

Ministers and leaders should be "extra careful" while making statements on sensitive issues and they cannot later on get away merely by saying that they were "misinterpreted", union Home Minister Rajanth Singh said on Friday.

The statement of Rajnath Singh, who did not name anybody, came in the wake of controversies over the remarks of union ministers V.K. Singh and Kiren Rijiju on Dalit killings in Haryana and north Indians respectively.

"One should choose his words carefully before making any statement on a sensitive issue," the home minister told the media when asked about V.K. Singh's use of an analogy of a dog on Thursday while talking about the death of two Dalit children in an arson attack in Haryana.

"We can't get away by saying that (our) statement was misinterpreted. We need to be extra careful while putting forth our views," he said.

Asked about the gory killings of the two children by the upper caste men, the former army chief said: "If someone throws stones at a dog, the government is not responsible. It was a feud between two families, the matter in under inquiry.... The failure of the administration should not be blamed on the government."

Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said on Wednesday that people of north India generally enjoyed breaking the law and rules.

"I was witness to a statement made by one of Delhi's former lieutenant governors. He had stated that the people of north India enjoy breaking the rules and by evening he was forced to apologise. But I believe what he said was right," Rijiju said.

V.K.Singh and Rijiju later apologised for their remarks. - IANS