Reacting sharply to writer Arundhati Roy’s remarks against the Narendra Modi government, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed her ‘anti-national’. The party also justified the protest by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) students at the programme in Pune where the Man Booker Prize-winning author received an award. On the other hand, opposition parties Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have claimed that the BJP-affiliated organisations were terrorising others by carrying out such protests.
“Roy has always made statements challenging the unity of the country. She had said that Kashmir should be separated from India; and a writer who makes such remarks should be condemned. We also have right to condemn such statements,” BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said.
The BJP spokesperson even lashed out at Ms Roy for her remarks on intolerance. “A section of the people keep talking about growing intolerance in the country. They feel that no one should criticise them, but they can criticise all the others. This is a mockery of democracy. Is it only they who have freedom of expression ” Mr Bhandari said.
Sharing similar sentiments, BJP Mumbai spokesperson Vivekanand Gupta refuted Ms Roy’s claims about Dalit atrocities. “We condemn every atrocity against Dalits and we are also concerned (about the issue). Ms Roy is known for anti-national statements that she keeps making even outside the country. She shakes hands with terrorists and terms others anti-nationalist,” Mr Gupta alleged. Backing the protest by the ABVP, the leader said that it reflected the sentiments of the youth.
However, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik, citing the protest as an example of ‘intolerance’, said the ABVP was terrorising the people. “The Modi government should understand the way its organisations are terrorising the people. This is the intolerance that we are talking about, and we condemn it,” Mr Malik said.
Alleging that society has been forcefully divided into two groups, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said Mr Modi followers are on one side while the rest are being termed anti-nationals. Reacting to the protest by the ABVP, Mr Sawant said he was hoping that some action would be taken against the protesters as per the democratic norms. “So far, no action has been taken against the protesters in any case. We are hoping that some action will be taken in this matter at least,” Mr Sawant said.
