Describing Congress accusation of “intolerance” against the BJP Government as “devil quoting scriptures” and “joke of the decade”, the BJP on Monday charged the Opposition party and “intellectuals” with being “conspicuously silent” during the 1984 Sikh massacre, exodus of pundits from the Kashmir Valley and when the left and Muslim retrogrades indulged in violence against their ideological opponents in Kerala.
“Reasons for the ongoing malicious campaign against BJP and Prime Minister lie elsewhere. Since Independence, one particular line of thinking has been patronised and individuals and institutions were propped up in the name of one family. No other world view or perspective was allowed to be expressed or grow. These people who thrust one view on the country all these years are not ready to tolerate the other view emerging now,” said senior BJP Minister and Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, addressing a Press conference.
While seeing no wrong in Congress delegation proposing to meet President Pranab Mukherjee to communicate their views to him, the BJP leader said, “It is obvious that the Congress that “thrives on hate and divisive politics” is backing intellectual protesters.
Naidu said, besides 1984 Sikh riots and exodus of Pundits from the Kashmir Valley, the intellectuals did not react even to the numerous violent incidents in Kerala when Prof TJ Joseph’s right palm was chopped off by the Popular Front of India in 2010 for allegedly insulting the Prophet during the Congress rule as also when Marxists hacked to death KT Jayakrishnan, a teacher in Kerala, in front of students. This apart, the Minster also mentioned murder of Marxist rebel TP Chanrasekharan in 2012 on whom “51 cuts and slashes were inflicted” during the assault”, he said.
“The recent spate of resignations, return of awards are motivated and aimed at maligning the image of the Narendra Modi Government at the Centre”, he said.
Naidu claimed that the Congress and the left had struck a tacit understanding in 1969 with the former agreeing to install leftists in several key educational and other institutions in the country in lieu of latter’s support. He described writer Nayantara Sahgal and documentary film maker Anand Patwardhan as “noted critics of Narendra Modi”. He wondered why Sahgal accepted award post-1984 Sikh riots, leave alone registering a protest.