The Lok Sabha on Monday was repeatedly adjourned due to clashes between the central government and the Opposition on the intolerance debate. The disruption was triggered when Communist Party of India (Marxist) member Mohammad Salim attributed certain pro-Hindutva remarks in a news magazine to home minister Rajnath Singh, who denied them outright and demanded an apology. Singh added that he was never hurt so much in his Parliamentary career as he was today.

The House was adjourned four times due to protests over the Salim’s comments, reported PTI. The logjam was resolved only in the evening after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan expunged the remarks related to the allegations. On resumption, opposition parties such as the CPI(M) and the Congress continued to attack the government, saying that intolerance had increased in the country since the National Democratic Alliance government came to power in May 2014.

Advertisement

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which leads the central alliance, hit back saying that the incidents that were being projected by the Opposition as examples of “intolerance” had been taking place in the country for decades. BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi also quoted home ministry figures to insist that incidents of communal violence had reduced since the NDA came to power.

In the Rajya Sabha, parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu admitted there was “some amount” of intolerance in the society, saying it has to be identified and dealt with firmly, instead of generalising it. He added that people making statements out of turn should be condemned, isolated and disowned, reported PTI. Naidu said, “Let us all be tolerant to each other and then tolerant to verdict of the people. Respecting the mandate of the people is the biggest form of tolerance.”

Around 250 members of the Indian Youth Congress who were protesting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against growing intolerance were detained by the police. The protesters were demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence on the matter, and marched towards the Parliament for a "Sansad Gherao", before the police used water canons to disperse them midway, reported PTI.