"We are the most vibrant democracy," said union minister Arun Jaitley (Press Trust of India photo)
Hours before the Congress party's march to the President's House to highlight the alleged rise in incidents of intolerance, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asserted: "Where is intolerance? This country has never been and will never be intolerant."
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi led the party's parliamentarians and top leaders in a march this afternoon to the Rashtrapati Bhawan. On Monday,
Mrs Gandhi reportedly raised incidents related to intolerance in a one-on-one meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee.
Reacting to the Congress campaign, Mr Jaitley said: "There is peace and harmony in the country. There have been aberrations, but it is not right to make them an issue like this. Where is the intolerance? We are the most vibrant democracy. The atmosphere will not change only by talking. If some incident happens like the one in Karnataka, which is Congress-ruled, you cannot link it to the central government to attack. That is not fair."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had yesterday responded to Congress criticism by invoking the 1984 riots after the assassination of India Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. "
Doob maro (
drown in shame)... Try to remember that day in 1984 when Sikhs were being massacred in Delhi and all over India two-three days after Indira Gandhi was killed. There were serious charges against the Congress party and Congress leaders... And today on November 2, Congress party is lecturing on tolerance," he said.
The debate swirling around "rising intolerance" intensified after incidents like the murder of rationalists and mob killings over beef-eating or cow slaughter rumours. Several writers and artists protested against what they called the Prime Minister's "silence", by returning their awards. Protests that came to be known as "Award Wapsi" have drawn support from several filmmakers, scientists and historians.
On Monday, film star Shah Rukh Khan told NDTV: "Religious intolerance or intolerance of any kind is the worst thing and
will take us to the dark ages."
Mr Jaitley, responding to the comment, said: "If any person is saying that there should be no intolerance, then what is wrong with it?"