Home Ministry denies existence of any ‘tukde-tukde gang’
By Amritha Mohan Published on 11 Feb 2020 1:20 PM GMT
Hyderabad: There is no such thing as a ‘tukde-tukde gang’ confirmed the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday, as the opposition questioned the government regarding the same.
While the phrase ‘tukde-tukde gang’ has been gaining popularity over the years, with right-wing groups as well as the ruling BJP government constantly using it against one another opposition, the Ministry conceded that they have no information on this stating “No such information has been brought to the notice of the Government by any law enforcement agency.”
The term ‘tukde-tukde gang’ had gained traction after former JNU Students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested in February 2016, over alleged ‘anti-national’ slogans being raised within the campus. Since then, the term has been a part of several BJP leaders’ speeches, while referring to student leaders as well as political opponents.
Terms such as ‘urban naxals’ and ‘anti-nationals’ also come under the same league, and have been gaining currency with the rising protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the country. The allegation against the 'gang' is that they are set out to 'destroy the nation into pieces' (desh ke tukde tukde karne wala).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had referred to the ‘tukde-tukde gang’ in the Parliament on February 6.
“They say that this government is dividing people on the basis of Hindus and Muslims. They say that we are making this country into ‘tukde-tukde’. But the ones who are criticising the CAA are the ones who love getting photographed with the tukde-tukde gang.”
The Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also known for his regular references to the tukde-tukde gang.
The question referring to the ‘tukde-tukde’ gang was asked in the Parliament by Congress MPs Vincent H Pala and Jasbir Singh Gill.
In a series of questions, they had asked whether the ‘tukde-tukde gang’ exists, whether the terminology is based on specific inputs from the Home Ministry or law enforcement agencies, and whether any punishment/action is planned against them.
