Lok sabha set to discuss issue of intolerance on monday

“Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that for first time in 800 years, a Hindu has become India’s PM”, he added. “If a home minister makes such comments, he has no right to be on his post”, Rajnath said, adding that members of the house and people from the minority community know that he can not make such remarks.

After Lok Sabha proceedings resumed after an hour-long adjournment, MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy said since CPM couldn’t authenticate whether the comment was made or not, CPM leader Mohammad Salim should take back his comments. Speaker also asked Salim to agree to this but he declined.

N K Premachandran (RSP), however, defended Salim and said he has not made any defamatory statement but has quoted from a magazine and hence he should not withdraw his statement.

Congress, JD-U, CPI-M, CPI and Trinamool Congress have given separate notices to seek a discussion with and without voting, pass a resolution by the House and seek action against ministers making provocative speeches. The heated exchanges led to another adjournment of the House by Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai. “This is also intolerance“.

The home minister denied the accusation and has demanded an apology.

The logjam, because of which the House was adjourned four times, was resolved in the evening after Speaker Sumitra Mahajan expunged the remarks related to the allegations.

Rajnath Singh registered protest immediately, saying Salim should either prove the allegation or apologise.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tea meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on November 27 to ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament may not help the NDA, which is set to face heat over the issue of intolerance.

Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, while participating in a debate in the Rajya Sabha, said there was “some amount” of intolerance in the society which has to be identified and dealt with firmly, instead of generalising it.