The Opposition on Wednesday condemned the killing of journalist Gauri lankesh with Congress president Sonia Gandhi saying it was a chilling reminder that "intolerance and bigotry is raising its ugly head in our society".
While West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described it as "sad and very alarming" the left parties questioned the "astonishing silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on the killing of the Kannada journalist.
Along with Sonia, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, senior leader P Chidambaram and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh also expressed shock at the killing of the journalist in Bengaluru. Sonia in a statement said the Congress stands as one with the rationalists, thinkers, journalists and the media fraternity.
Sonia as well as Rahul spoke to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and urged him to swiftly bring the culprits to the book. "The series of killings of rationalists, free thinkers and journalists in the country has created an atmosphere that dissent, ideological differences and divergence of views can endanger our lives. This cannot be and should not be tolerated," Sonia said.
The Congress vice-president attacked the Prime Minister and described him as a "skilled Hindutva politician", what he spoke had a different meaning for his base and another one for the world. "No one can suppress the truth. The RSS and BJP ideology is trying to suppress the truth but this cannot happen in India," he said. "Anybody who speaks against the ideology of BJP and RSS, is pressured, beaten, attacked and even killed," Rahul Gandhi said in his reaction to media.
Asked about Modi's silence on the issue, Rahul said, "...But the entire ideology is to silence voices". "When sometimes the Prime Minister feels there is too much pressure to speak then he says something, but the entire ideology is to crush dissent and this is resulting in a serious problem in India," he said.
The CPI alleged that "right-wing and fanatic forces" were behind the attack. "I strongly condemn her killing. The right-wing fascist forces have become so aggressive that they are taking law into their hands. This attack is part of their sinister design," CPI national secretary D Raja said. He urged the people to unite and resist the "fascist onslaught" on dissenting voices.
The CPI(M) too condemned senior journalist Gauri lankesh's killing, which it alleged, fits into the "familiar pattern" of eliminating voices that dare to speak against "climate of intolerance" created by the RSS and the BJP. The left party also demanded that the Karnataka Government identify and arrest the culprits behind the murder.
The party said it was one in the series of murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and MM Kalburgi and claimed the four killings are "interconnected".
Mamata Banerjee condemned the incident on Twitter last night also. "Saddened at the killing of journalist Gauri lankesh in Bengaluru. Most unfortunate. Very alarming. We want justice (sic)," she wrote on the microblogging website.