New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said a ‘selective’ approach to human rights dents the country’s image. He hit out at ‘some’ who viewed human rights ‘with an eye on political gains and loss’ and were therefore harming the practice of such rights and democracy.
Delivering his speech at the 28th anniversary function of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) virtually, he said that though ‘some people’ see human rights violation in a particular incident, they ignore violation of such rights in other, similar cases.
‘There is an aspect of human rights that I want to discuss today. These days, we see that people have started interpreting human rights in a way that benefits them. However, these rights are grossly violated when these are looked at from a political lens. This selective behaviour is harmful for our democracy,’ Modi said.
He also drew an analogy between human rights and India’s independence movement, saying that the respect for human rights in the country is largely due to the long freedom struggle that the nation went through.
‘We fought for our rights across centuries and, as a country and society, always protested against injustice and tyranny,’ the PM remarked.
The Prime Minister’s comments come amid national fury over the killing of four farmers in UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri earlier this month.