New Delhi: Congress lawmakers led a clamorous Opposition attack on the government on Friday over the issue of intolerance in India, accusing central ministers and BJP leaders of making incendiary statements on religious matters and trying to “manufacture a clash” between iconic freedom fighters.
In the Lok Sabha, MP Jyotiraditya Scindia tore into home minister Rajnath Singh a day after the senior BJP leader pointed out in Parliament that the word “secular” was not originally in the Preamble to the Constitution and was introduced in 1976 through an amendment.
“This government has difficulty with the word ‘secularism’ and that is why it was highlighted in the debate,” the Congress leader said on the second day of Parliament’s winter session, while participating in a discussion on the commitment to India’s Constitution.
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Scindia also accused the government of remaining silent as a string of artists and intellectuals returned top awards while alleging that the BJP-led government was fanning religious tensions and muzzling criticism.
The Congress lawmaker said when two Dalit children were allegedly burnt alive in Haryana, a central minister gave the analogy of a dog. When someone questioned a governor for his statement that “Hindustan is for Hindus”, he said “Muslims are free to go to either Pakistan or Bangladesh”.
His remark that the RSS had burnt effigies of BR Ambedkar over his opinion on Hindu laws drew sharp reactions from the treasury benches.
“Don’t show your intolerance to the historical facts,” he told BJP leaders when they objected.
In the Rajya Sabha, former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad hit out at the ruling party for failing to acknowledge the contributions of leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru in the framing of the Constitution.
“You can talk about German Constitution, its dictator… but you feel ashamed to talk about Nehru….You are not able to recognise the contribution of the first Prime Minister,” said the Congress MP. “This is called intolerance. It flows from the top and percolates down to the streets.”
Azad accused the BJP of attempting to “manufacture a clash” between freedom fighters like Subhas Chandra Bose, Vallabhbhai Patel and Nehru on the lines of the British “divide and rule” policy.
“Those who don’t have icons who took part in freedom struggle are trying to appropriate others,” he said.(Agencies)