There's complete peace, the nation is not and never will be intolerant: Arun Jaitley

'Just by giving lectures, there can't be a spurt of intolerance'

New Delhi:

Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said there was complete peace in the country.

“Where is intolerance The nation is not and never will be intolerant,” said Jaitley, adding, “I've already made it clear that there is an atmosphere of complete peace.”

“Just by giving lectures, there can't be a spurt of intolerance,” he further said.

Jaitley also said that there was no point in returning the Sahitya Akademi awards when there is an atmosphere of tolerance in country. “The awards are not given by the Government,” he said.

Regarding Shah Rukh Khan’s take on intolerance, Jaitley said, “If someone says “there shouldn't be intolerance in the country-" what is wrong in that -"

Earlier, Jaitley said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the “worst victim of ideological intolerance”.

Jaitley said India “repeatedly rejected” intolerance and that it doesn’t “respond to provocations”. He urged “every well-wisher of India” to make sure that no action or statement by him or her “provides a tool in the hands of those who want to obstruct India’s growth story”.

He accused the Congress, Left thinkers and activists of practising “ideological intolerance” towards the BJP and Prime Minister Modi who, he said, had been the “worst victim” of this type of intolerance since 2002.