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Opposition on Tuesday targeted the government in Lok Sabha over the issue of 'intolerance', saying instead of 'developed India', a 'divided India' was coming to the fore and it is a matter of serious concern.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Supriya Sule referred to the remarks of actors Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan on intolerance, saying the issue needs to be taken seriously and it is a duty of the party in position of power to remove the sense of insecurity from peoples' mind.
"Lets not run down Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. They have contributed substantially for India at the international-level...their contribution is big," she said while participating in a debate on 'intolerance'.
She said not only the famous people, even the common people are feeling insecure and it is the duty of the party that is in power to make them feel secure.
"We are looking for a developed India but if you read any newspaper or watch any channel, actually we are looking at a divided India. There are very serious concerns raised from various sections of society," said Sule, daughter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
She urged Home Minister Rajnath Singh to tell the Bharatiya Janata Party members to think before commenting on any issue, particularly those related to intolerance.
Expressing disappointment over murder of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, she said these were acts of intolerance.
"I represent and come from a state (Maharashtra) which is suffering from intolerance...People now ask me, what is happening in your state?" she said.
She said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis did nothing when the music functions were cancelled in Mumbai.
Further, she said the present government is making progressive statements and keeps talking about smart cities and digital India 'but do beef ban and ghar wapsi issues come under digital and modern India? Deliver the results that you have committed to'.
"This is the right and opportune time to clean up everything," Sule said, adding that instead of commenting on people who returned their awards, the BJP should 'rethink what is happening'.
Yuvajana, Shramika, Rythu Congress Party member Varaprasad Rao said whatever is happening in the country during the last 18 months is a 'little disturbing'.
He said that instead of getting into the controversy of intolerance, people should think of renovating the thousands of temples which are in dilapidated condition.
Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav said the central government should look at issues like poverty and unemployment instead of discussing intolerance.
He alleged after the Dadri lynching incident, a minister of the BJP-led government tried to threaten minorities. He also asked the government to look into the reasons behind the return of awards by several people.
Questioning the 'tolerance' of intellectuals who returned their awards, BJP MP Kirron Kher said where was their 'intolerance' during ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits or the anti-Sikh riots and questioned the yardstick or data being used to measure intolerance. "These intellectuals had accepted awards from the Congress," she said.
Noting that a 'perception of intolerance was being created', she asked where was the tolerance of Congress when Amitabh Bachchan’s invitation as chief guest at the Goa Film Festival was withdrawn when the United Progressive Alliance was in power.
She, however, also said there were 'wrong statements from both the sides' and condemned the attack on Sudheendra Kulkarni by Shiv Sena activists.
She also referred to an alleged attack by the NCP when her husband and actor Anupam Kher supported the Anna movement and said 'fringe elements are everywhere'.
To this, Sule said, "For all this time, those who did it were hooligans. But this time they are your partners in the government."
This also led to protests by Shiv Sena members.
Defending the government, Shiromani Akali Dal member P S Chandumajra said those talking about 'intolerance are showing tolerance' in the House. He also raised the issue of intolerance during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Taking the intolerance debate to the sacking of the SAD government in 1980s in Punjab when the Congress was at the Centre, he quipped that 'raat tak mantri the, aur subah santri ban gaye (they were ministers till the night, but became a sentry the next morning)'.
Attacking the government, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav sought action against Union minister V K Singh for his controversial remarks against Dalits.
Aam Aadmi Party MP from Patiala Dharamvira Gandhi said intolerance has increased in the past few months and it was the responsibility of the majority community to protect the minorities.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the 'bomb of communalism' was dividing India and 'Make in India' cannot be promoted when there is ongoing hatred inside the country.
Maintaining that intolerance has been unleashed on the country in the last few months, Sugata Bose of Trinamool Congress said humanity should be the only religion that should be followed in the country.
"Let us pledge not to make minorities feel unsafe in the country... The government can improve only if it listens to the criticism from the Opposition rather than the eulogy of supporters," Bose said, demanding strong action by the prime minister against the acts of such elements who are spreading prejudice in the country.
He said if Ambedkar was alive, he would have been saddened by the prevailing situation and urged the government to uphold the fundamental rights of people.
Anupriya Patel (Apna Dal) criticised the 'negative biases' of the media while reporting on communal tensions and said the media does not highlight the instances of harmony between communities.
Dushyant Chautala from Indian National Lok Dal said the parties should rise above their political interests and instead think about farmer suicides and betterment of youth.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi condemned the killings of Muslims in the past few months and questioned that why even after 68 years of independence, a Muslim finds it difficult to rent a house in India. He asked why is it that whenever he opposed the BJP, he was called ‘anti-national’.
He sought amendments to the Human Rights Act so that it can enquire communal incidents and also wanted setting up of an Equal Opportunity Commission.
Pralhad Joshi (BJP) regretted that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi did not say a word on the ban on Salman Rushdie's book Satanic Verses by the Rajiv Gandhi government. Last week, former finance minister P Chidambaram had described the ban as 'wrong'.
Joshi further said that India is a tolerant society because 80 per cent of the people are Hindus.
On the murder of writer M M Kalburgi, he said the state Crime Investigation Department is unable to probe the matter because of paucity of funds.
Kaushlendra Kumar (Janata Dal-United) said even the President is talking about intolerance and the statements made by ministers on various incidents are disturbing.
Image: NCP MP Supriya Sule speaks in Lok Sabha during the intolerance debate on Tuesday. Photograph: PTI Photo