Turning tables on Congress and left thinkers, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday accused them of practising "ideological intolerance" towards the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and trying to project India as an intolerant society through structured and organised propaganda.
The winter session of Parliament beginning on Thursday is expected to be a stormy affair, with the opposition set to raise the 'intolerance' issue.
'Democracy is India's greatest strength.'
Mohammad Salim cited a news magazine which quoted Singh as reportedly saying -- after Narendra Modi and BJP's victory last year -- that India had the first "Hindu ruler after 800 years."
'Is this protest real or a manufactured one? Is this not a case of ideological intolerance?" the finance minister writes in a Facebook post.
The author was flooded with a barrage of hate messages following his tweet in support of writers who returned their Sahitya Akademi awards.
Eminent Punjabi writer and Padma Shri winner Dalip Kaur Tiwana decided to return her award protesting "recurrent atrocities" on Muslims in the country, as another Kannada writer joined authors giving up their Sahitya Akademi Awards against "growing intolerance".
'In essence, while I appreciate your earnest care for the nation's welfare, your eagerness in returning the awards seems not be driven by data. The data is at worst favouring the present disposition or it provides an inconclusive result. It seems to be directed at Narendra Damordas Modi and nothing else,' says Sriram Balasubramanian in an open letter.
Taking on Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik for his remarks on the law and order situation in the state, the ruling Samajwadi Party on Monday dubbed him as "a RSS worker" and advised him to join the Union ministry to pursue his "communal agenda".
Yechury could play the role Harkishan Singh Surjeet had played in 1996 and 2004 to unify the opposition, writes Archis Mohan.
Speaking at the all-party meeting called by the government, Modi said, "People have great expectations and that is why Parliament should function and be productive."
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi will lead a march to Rashtrapati Bhavan to appeal to President Pranab Mukherjee to use his constitutional powers to end the "atmosphere of intolerance".
'It promises to get much, much darker before the dawn.' 'But at least dawn has a fighting chance,' says Mitali Saran.
'You can't make the poor rich overnight.' 'Nor can you fly millions in planes.' 'But remember that word: Empathy.' 'Who in the BJP is speaking in that language to these millions?' 'Someone putting an arm of understanding, warmth, comfort around them?', asks Shekhar Gupta.
In Maharashtra, where the 'Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and smaller parties is against the 'Maha-agadhi' led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the ruling BJP is locked in a contest with the opposition Congress and the fledgling Jannayak Janata Party for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
After eminent writers Nayantara Sahgal and Ashok Vajpeyi, Malayalam novelist and Aam Aadmi Party leader Sarah Joseph today said she would return the Sahitya Akademi award in protest against what she called the "growing communalism" and "life threat faced by writers" in the country after Narendra Modi government assumed office.
A combative Rahul Gandhi on Saturday signalled an aggressive campaign against the RSS soon and declared that a reinvigorated Congress alone can "smash" the BJP and its ideological mentor.
'The dirt in the Indian Ocean must be less than the abuses Narendra Modi got from secular forces.' 'If you are going to put the blame on the central government and the RSS for every wrongdoing, then it is not going to serve any purpose, rather it will complicate the issue instead of resolving it.' 'There are fringe elements in every society, but for an ideal State it is important to finish off the fringe elements.'
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday brushed aside former Union Minister Arun Shourie's statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'managed headlines instead of economy', saying that the former had made such a remark since he was in pain for not being a part of the NDA government anymore.
Major opposition parties met President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday and put forth their concerns over recent incidents of violence, including attacks by cow vigilantes, and attempts to "muzzle voices of dissent".
'While the government must be relentless in its efforts to curb unruly elements to ensure secular harmony and protect its goal of national development,it must not lose the moral high ground by giving in to the antics of the anti-nationalist lobby.' 'They must be countered and relegated to the dustbin of history,' says Vivek Gumaste.
Shah also said that the parties in power in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka were answerable for the incidents cited by protesting writers.
'The prime minister has merely paid lip service condemning these crimes instead of launching a massive crackdown against such brutalities,' argues Professor Mohammad Sajjad.
Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday attacked the coalition partner on issues like Pakistan, beef, Ram temple and inflation but ruled out walking out of the Maharashtra government any time soon.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Sunday cautioned voters that neither an Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance nor a united SP can check Bharatiya Janata Party and that only her party would render a crushing blow to Modi government by defeating the saffron party in Uttar Pradesh so that it does not take "immature" steps like the note ban.
President Pranab Mukherjee has yet again come out with an appeal for practicing tolerance and to accept differences while respecting dissent, in remarks that come in the midst of growing intolerance in the country.
The President asked, "Is tolerance and acceptance of dissent on the wane?"
Kashinath Singh and Katyayani Vidmahe announced their decision to return their awards.
Why 'anti-Romeo'? Why not 'anti-loafer' squad? Or 'anti-Majnu' squad?' wonders Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Noted writer Nayantara Sahgal, who recently returned her 'Sahitya Akademi' Award over the Dadri lynching case, has said secularism is under threat like never before and that individual freedom and rights have to be protected even these are guaranteed in the Constitution.
Rumours of a live power line having snapped triggered the stampede. The injured have been rushed to a local hospital, a BSP spokesperson said.
'Communal tension and violent mobs have been part of our country, whichever government is in power. What has happened since the BJP came into power is that individuals or group activities asserting Hindutva have become louder, more aggressive.' 'Now we are finding ourselves in a country where reasoning and thinking have no place, the power lies with the goons.' 'I find any ban, whether on what we write, what we eat, how we dress etc, absolutely abominable. They have no place in a democracy.' Shashi Deshpande on why she joined the writers' protest against the growing intolerance in India.
'One can understand this prejudice in the minds of policemen against Muslims, without accepting it. But what tilts the balance disproportionately is the police's blind eye to offences committed in the name of the majority.' says Jyoti Punwani.
'That's the stunning achievement of two-and-a-half years of this government -- a political bait-and-switch, selling a promise of economic development, and delivering a triumphalist machine that sacralises country, nationalism, majoritarianism and tradition, to achieve Hindutva goals,' says Mitali Saran.
Jyotiraditya Scindia said over the last two years, since the BJP government came to power at the Centre, the situation in the valley has "deteriorated" and has become "disappointing"
Akhilesh believes his catchment area is the 4.1 million new voters who are 18 to 19 years old.
The BJP sees investments, both foreign and domestic, as their pathways to political power and not the construction of the Ram temple or a nationwide ban on beef. It will have no option but to let commerce prevail over religious sentiments, says Amulya Ganguli.
On the eve of Winter session of Parliament, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that the Congress "strongly" believed that the government should reach out to the Opposition on certain issues.
Why are the 'secular' parties silent about the lynchings on our streets? Are they so busy forging political alliances that they ignore the numerous distortions of Constitutional values?
The real dirt of India lies not on the streets but in "our minds and in our unwillingness to let go of views that divide society into them and us", President Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday emphasising on cleansing minds of divisive thoughts.
