Bihar lawmaker Pappu Yadav said there is no "intolerance" in the country.
Jan Adhikar Party leader and Lok Sabha lawmaker from Bihar Pappu Yadav on Tuesday said there is no "intolerance" in the country and added that politicians rake up the issue in order to garner votes.
"I don't find any intolerance. Politicians are vitiating the atmosphere. The country needs another round of mass movement to root out such politicians who are raising this issue (intolerance) to appease their vote banks," he said.
Speaking to media, the Madhepura lawmaker said, "Politicians today have become puppets in the hands of capitalists and they have close nexus with criminal-minded elements. Such politicians are like termites who are making this country hollow from inside."
However, Mr Yadav, who himself is facing several criminal cases, refused to comment when asked if people with criminal background should be barred from entering the Parliament.
The former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) lawmaker, who was expelled from the party last year, took potshots at the grand alliance government in Bihar and alleged that the Nitish-Lalu duo is leading the state into 'jungle raj' (lawlessness).
"Nitish has surrendered himself before Lalu Yadav and dreams of becoming Prime Minister. Criminal-minded people in the state are feeling safe now," he said.
Mr Yadav, whose life will be subject of a film to be helmed by an American director of Indian-origin, said the poor among upper castes, too, should get reservation in government jobs and education institutes.
He said there is need to ponder over reservation and added that while tribal people and dalits should continue to get its benefit, poor people from the upper castes should also be given the advantage of quota.