Intolerance debate: Cong takes out protest march

Submits memorandum to the President

The Congress on Tuesday took out a protest march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan against religious intolerance, fear and intimidation of minorities in the country being fostered under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government's patronage and submitted a petition to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who led the 125 member Congress delegation, came down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being a mute spectator, even as the President had condemned the rising incidents of intolerance. Congress Vice- President Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Ghulam Nabi Azad and A K Antony also participated in the march.

Addressing mediapersons after the event, Sonia Gandhi reiterated that the current atmosphere of fear, intolerance and intimidation was being actively encouraged and used as a well-thought out strategy to divide the society on communal lines. She said, "The Congress party will fight these forces with all its strength."

Referring to the protests by writers, artistes and historians, Rahul Gandhi said, "Large numbers of people have made it clear that they are unhappy with the way the government views this country." Attacking Union ministers, including V K Singh for his "dog" remark, Rahul Gandhi said, "It is not a matter of just Congress party alone. It is a problem of every single Indian ..."

Talking about Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statements on protesting intellectuals, Rahul Gandhi said, "The prime minister and the finance minister believe nothing is happening in the country and they feel everything is fine. This is the heart of the problem. These people believe in intolerance. Ideologically they are not tolerant."

The party expressed gratitude to the President for speaking out "strongly and unequivocally against forces of prejudice, bigotry and intolerance."

The Congress expressed "deep regret that the prime minister had not deemed it fit to do so and worse, his council of ministers continue to harbour individuals who are contributing heavily to spreading hate and divisiveness."