Intolerance talk to defame Centre: Venkaiah Naidu

Visakhapatnam: A section of self-styled intellectuals and leaders of opposition parties are trying to tarnish the image of the country at a time when India was trying to get a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, said Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu. These two sections are promoting manufactured protests on some stray incidents of intolerance.

• Says those involved in the propaganda are harming interests of the nation
• Wonders why the ‘self-styled’ intellectuals were silent during Emergency

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, the Union Minister said that the entire campaign on intolerance in India was just to smear and discredit Modi government. Those forces which could not defeat Modi in the elections have launched this smear campaign, he said.

“They are thinking that they are hurting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP. But they are hurting the interests of the country which they should understand,’’ Venkaiah Naidu said.

“They are using stray incidents of intolerance and portraying them as a general condition across the nation, and as if they are confined to India only. Such incidents have been occurring all over the world,” Venkaiah added.

Out of the 1,100 odd award winners, some 42 have returned their awards and these people are trying to say that every award winner has returned their award, which is false.

“Where were these award winners when emergency was imposed? And when Sikhs were massacred in New Delhi and when lakhs of Kashmir Pandits were shunted out of their homelands and why they didn’t return the awards,’’ questioned Venkaiah.

He added that BJP government is always ready to discuss intolerance if opposition showed tolerance and allowed the Parliament to function.

Taking a dig at the writers and artists, the Union Minister said some of the so-called intelligentsia were worried that they were losing grip over cultural and literary organisations.