File photo of Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu.
Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday accused the writers, who returned their awards, of double standards saying they were selective in attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "growing intolerance" in the country and overlooked the Congress wrongdoings including Emergency in the past.
"Why these writers did not raise the issue of intolerance during the regime of Congress in Maharashtra when Dhabolkar was killed. Why are they not writing a word against the Congress government in Karnataka where Dr Kalburgi's murder took place. Whose government is in Uttar Pradesh when Dadri episode happened? It was Mulayam Singh party's government. But some writers are attacking Modi for all these incidents. What is the connection of Modi with these incidents?" Mr Naidu said.
The Union Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister said these writers, who were silent and did not write a word against Emergency and other wrongdoings of the Congress governments in the past, are criticising Modi for his silence, because they were comfortable during the Congress regime.
"These writers did not raise voice against the wrongdoings including Emergency and the murder of rationalist Dhabolkar during Congress rule ... Why they did not raise the voice because they were comfortable during the Congress regime," he said at a function here to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel.
Naidu further attacked the writers for their silence over genocide of the Sikhs in the 1984 Delhi riots and also when Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen was attacked by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen in Hyderabad. "Why were they silent. Why, what happened? What is this selective amnesia? The reason is they were comfortable with Congress regime," he said