BJP MPs told to speak with decorum

At the BJP parliamentary party meeting chaired by senior minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, the MPs were told that the BJP’s ideological and political opponents had joined hands to “defame” the country, government and Mr Modi over the intolerance issue.

“MPs were told to speak with understanding and decorum. There is a need to avoid controversy... At a time when the PM is pushing ahead with his development agenda, many people are unable to digest it and any misstep will allow anti-BJP forces to work it to their benefit. We should avoid making provocative statements,” MoS parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, quoting Mr Naidu. He said the debate on intolerance issue was “unmasking” those misleading the country and added the party MPs were told communal riots were controlled under the BJP-led NDA government and there was social harmony everywhere.

In a sarcastic tone, the minister said those protesting over the intolerance issue include many “great intellectuals” who had issued an appeal to the people to vote against Mr Modi during the Lok Sabha poll. The people had rejected their appeal but they were not able to get over it, he said.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley told the members that economic growth at a good rate in India was a happy development at a time when it was weakening across the world.

He said GST will be a “game-changer” for the Indian economy, citing a number of reports by the World Bank, IMF and other international agencies that have mentioned India positively.

Apparently taking a dig at actor Aamir Khan over recent comments that his wife had wondered if they should leave India, Mr Naidu said: “A fleeting thought of leaving the country under perceived lack of security and justice speaks very poorly of the person’s thought processes.”

Hitting out at the Opposition for raking up the intolerance issue, he said: “It will give a handle to our opponents to project a picture that is far from reality. By these utterances, we are falling in the trap of our enemies... There are reports suggesting that some people are making intolerance an issue to thwart the possibility of India getting permanent membership in the UN (Security Council).”

The minister urged that all nationalists, particularly the young, should come together and fight it out, claiming that a section of the media was also amplifying controversies. He noted that the handful of the intelligentsia, artistes or writers had never raised their voice of against intolerance or protested when thousands of Sikhs were massacred under Congress rule and maintained an “unforgivable and deafening silence”.