Government has nothing to hide, open to having a discussion on intolerance: Venkaiah Naidu

Union Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior BJP functionary M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said that the NDA Government and the BJP welcomes the resumption of the discussion on the 'Commitment to the Constitution' and on the issue of intolerance in the country in Parliament.

"We are ready for a debate on intolerance. But it should not be blown out of proportion. We have nothing to hide," Naidu told ANI.

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Naidu also remarked that nothing has gone wrong during under the stewardship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and maintained that there is absolute tolerance across the country.

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"Different writers have different opinions, Things used to happen earlier also during emergency, constitutional and fundamental rights were crippled, these people (writers) were silent then and violent now," he added.

The Rajya Sabha will resume discussion on 'Commitment to Constitution' while the Lok Sabha will discuss the issues related to intolerance in the country today.

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Naidu had earlier appealed to members to engage in a mature debate.

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The issue of intolerance has taken center stage in the wake of several writers, poets, actors and filmmakers returning their national awards in protest. Bollywood actors, such as Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan had even drawn flak for expressing their views on rising intolerance.