Prime Minister a victim of ideological intolerance: Jaitley

Congress, Left trying to project India as an intolerant society through structured and organised propaganda, he says.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday appealed to “every well-wisher of India and the present government” not to make statements that could vitiate the atmosphere and obstruct growth.

Turning tables on the Congress and the left, 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.

Mr. Jaitley also appealed to “every well-wisher of India and the present government” not to make statements that could vitiate the atmosphere and obstruct growth.

“Can’t accept BJP in power”

“While the government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is trying to accelerate India’s growth, there are many who have never intellectually accepted the idea of the BJP being in power. This obviously includes the Congress, many Left thinkers and activists. Over decades they have practiced ideological intolerance towards the BJP,” the Minister said in a Facebook post. He further said that since 2002, “the Prime Minister himself has been the worst victim of this ideological intolerance.”

“Their strategy is two-fold. Firstly, obstruct Parliament and do not permit reforms which will bring credit to the Modi Government. Secondly, create, by structured and organised propaganda, an environment that there is a social strife in India. They wish to project India as an intolerant society.”

“It is they who are intolerant”

The truth is otherwise, Mr. Jaitley said, adding the perpetrators of this propaganda had never allowed alternative viewpoints to grow in universities, academic institutions or cultural bodies which they controlled. “Their intolerance extends to not accepting an alternative ideological pole.”

As regards alleged lynching of a man in Dadri, Mr. Jaitley said that it was a “stray incident”. “It was both unfortunate and condemnable. The guilty will be taken to task.”

“Still a highly tolerant society”

Notwithstanding such aberrations, the Minister stressed, “India remains a highly tolerant and liberal society. Our cultural values have imbibed co-existence. India has repeatedly rejected intolerance. It does not respond to provocations.