High drama in Parliament as Opposition turns up the heat in debate on intolerance
NEW DELHI: The government on Monday conceded there was “some amount of intolerance” in the country even as the opposition turned on the heat in a fiery debate on the raging issue, potentially signaling the return of disruptions to Parliament.
The Lok Sabha was disrupted several times during the day after a Left lawmaker cited a news report to attribute a remark on the religion of the Prime Minister to Union home minister Rajnath Singh, who vehemently denied making the comment.
“I have never been hurt as much as I have been today in my entire parliamentary career. This is a huge allegation. He should prove it or apologise,” Singh said after CPI(M) MP Mohd Salim accused him of making the controversial statement to a news magazine.
Salim, however, admitted that the home minister was the first in the government to condemn the Dadri lynching incident.
After Salim refused to apologise, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan expunged his remark to facilitate resumption of the discussion. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is expected to intervene on Tuesday in the debate that remained inconclusive on Monday.
B JP MP Me en a ks hi Lek hi hit out at the “so-called intellectuals” who had returned awards. “These were probably the rewards for political considerations and not the awards, which were genuinely sought,” she said. Late in the evening, the magazine, Outlook, admitted it had erroneously attributed a remark made by late Ashok Singhal of the VHP to Rajnath Singh. In the Rajya Sabha – where MPs were participating in a discussion on the commitment to India’s Constitution – however, had a smooth run.
In the name of religion, atrocities are being committed and the government is silent. It is not Satyameva Jayate but Asatyameva Jayate... It is not Ahimsa Parmo Dharma but Himsa Parmo Dharma.
MOHAMMED SALIM, CPI(M) So-called intellectuals have returned their awards… they’re intellectual mercenaries. These were probably the rewards for political considerations and not the awards which were genuinely sought.
MEENAKSHI LEKHI, BJP
“There is some amount of intolerance in the society in different areas. It has to be localised and dealt with firmly. Instead of that, we are trying to generalise and then, in turn, it shows India in a poor light,” parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, veering away from the government’s earlier assertion that the Centre could not be held responsible for stray incidents in states. The Lok Sabha debate comes two days after Modi met Sonia Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh, setting aside a history of mutual bitterness amid signs that the government is reaching out to the opposition to avoid a repeat of the monsoon session washout.Much is at stake in the month-long winter session as the government has lined up an ambitious list of bills led by the goods and services tax bill, a landmark tax reform initiative.