Cong sets tone on intolerance debate ahead of winter session
New Delhi : The Congress party has set the tone of the debate on the issue of intolerance in the parliament ahead of the winter session. “The most unfortunate part is that it is not the government, nor the people, but the party in power and its political relatives who are intolerant,” said senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.
“No one is saying that India is intolerant. I will be the last man to say that. But it is the BJP that is intolerant. Its political relatives — cousins, first cousins — are intolerant. This issue would not have arisen at all if the party had acted against the ministers, MPs and MLAs who have made all these statements. If the prime minister had dropped any minister who made such statements, then there would have been no issue,” he said.
“But they have mocked the writers who have protested and are challenging the patriotism of those who are expressing their concerns. It is this mindset that is at the core of intolerance,” he added.
Azad conceded that even during the previous regimes, people have made statements that go against the country’s multi-religious, diverse ethos. “But those people were not allowed to be Governors or ministers, and they were made to pay for it. This government has given a licence for such statements,” he added.
Hinting that the two-day debate on the Constitution could be dominated by the ‘intolerance’ issue, Azad said that the very preamble of the Constitution is about freedom. “It is about the freedom of expression, freedom of every damn thing,” he said.
“Well, if at that time he happens to be on a tour of India we may ask him to reply to the debate,” Azad quipped when asked if the opposition would insist that Prime Minister Narendra Modi reply to the intolerance debate.
