Hazaribag: Opposition parties on Saturday condemned Union minister of state for civil aviation and BJP’s Hazaribag MP Jayant Sinha for ‘honouring and garlanding’ the eight men convicted of killing coal trader Alimuddin Ansari in Ramgarh in June last year.In the first verdict against cow-related violence in the country, a fast-track court has found 11 persons guilty in the case and sentenced them to life in prison in March. Eight of them secured bail from the Jharkhand high court last week.The eight men visited Sinha’s residence on Friday, where the MP welcomed them with garlands and sweets. Sources said he also informed them that it was his duty to ensure they get justice. The eight also thanked him for helping them get a lawyer and taking taking their case before the high court. Congress accused Sinha and BJP of fanning communal tension. "It is only in “New India” where those supposed to get the noose are being garlanded," the party said in a tweet. "A minister in the BJP-led government, which honours those accused of rioting, is now garlanding convicts of lynching . Is the Modi government encouraging social unstability," it added.CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury also attacked the BJP for “tearing India's social fabric” and promoting politics of hate. “We don't need to look far to see who or which ideology is tearing our social fabric apart: when Union ministers patronise those convicted of lynching,” he said in a tweet.Former Union minister and Jayant’s father Yashwant Sinha also condemned his son. Responding to demands on social media that he should spell out his stand on his son's move, Sinha said: “I do not approve of my son’s action,” he tweeted, recalling how people on social media would call him a nalayak (ill-intentioned) father of a layak (worthy) son. “Now the roles are reversed. That is Twitter," he said, a reference to the sharp reaction on social media.Clarifying how things transpired, Sinha said: “When these people were granted bail, they came to my residence and I wished them well. Let the law take its own course. The guilty will be punished and the innocent will be set free." He reiterated that he is a public representative and has taken an oath to protect the law.Sinha defended his actions and said he had full faith in India's judicial system and the rule of law. He said while he unequivocally condemned all acts of violence and rejected any type of vigilantism, he had misgivings about the fast-track court judgment sentencing each accused to life imprisonment. In a tweet, he said: “The Ranchi high court, which is the first court of appeal, has suspended the sentence of the accused and released them on bail while admitting their case. The case will once again be re-heard.”

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