New Delhi [India], July 7 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shehzad Poonawalla on Sunday questioned Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, asking if he would "care to visit Tamil Nadu" to meet the family of the slain state Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Chief, K Armstrong. Armstrong was brutally killed by a group of unidentified men near his residence in Chennai on Friday evening.
"Rahulji! You spoke a lot about Dalits, justice, north-south. You just dropped a post (on the killing of the BSP leader), and you did not even condemn the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government. You reached Hathras. Would you care to visit Tamil Nadu to meet the family of K Armstrong?" Poonawalla said while speaking to ANI.
Poonawalla further questioned whether the Congress MP would demand an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"Will you demand from the DMK government to conduct a CBI probe into the matter? Will you press the government to ensure accountability? Will you meet the families of the victims of the Kallakurichi incident? No, because for Rahul Gandhi, it's not Leader of Opposition; it is rather Leader of Opportunism," he added.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi visited Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, where he met the families of the victims of a stampede incident that occurred on July 2, claiming 121 lives.
Meanwhile, the BJP leader also criticized the ruling DMK government over the assassination of K Armstrong.
He claimed that law and order had been "destroyed" in Tamil Nadu, adding that the alliance of the Congress and the DMK is "responsible" for it.
"Law and order has been destroyed in Tamil Nadu, and the DMK and Congress alliance is responsible for it. The lives of Dalits in the state are under threat. A person is murdered at 7 pm, and no one is answerable. Previously, 65 Dalits were killed in Kallakurichi. Mayawati has even demanded a CBI probe. If there is nothing to hide, why don't they get a CBI investigation done? This explains that the DMK government can neither ensure the safety of Dalits nor bring them to justice," he said.
According to the police, eight suspects have been held so far in connection with the killing of the Tamil Nadu BSP chief.
The police are probing the case from multiple angles.
Earlier today, party supremo Mayawati, along with national coordinator Akash Anand, reached Chennai and paid floral tributes to the slain leader.
She also demanded that a CBI investigation be conducted into the matter.
"I urge the state government, especially the CM, to ensure law and order in the state. The weaker sections, in particular, should feel safe. Had the government been serious, the accused would have been arrested. Since that is not the case, we urge the state government to refer the case to the CBI," she said.