Firebrand Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday came down heavily on 49 personalities including activists and the film fraternity who have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over ‘rising’ intolerance in the country. Speaking to Times Now, Swamy categorically rejected their charge of intolerance and alleged that rasing the issue of intolerance had become fashionable and was being done repeatedly to catch international attention.
The Rajya Sabha MP said that there is a sinister motive behind the letter and went on to add that if he was the Prime Minister, he would have thrown the letter in the dustbin without reading it.
READ MORE: ‘Jai Shri Ram’ has become a provocative war-cry: 49 celebrities write to PM Modi, seek action on intolerance, mob lynching
“They still have the right to write to the Prime Minister. There is no intolerance. This is ridiculous. What intolerance they are talking about? Has any of them been put in jail? Has any of them been prosecuted for something they didn’t do? I understand this has become a fashion now to catch international attention. There is some sinister motive behind this. If I was the Prime Minister, I would throw this in a wastebasket without even reading it,” he told the channel.
His reaction comes immediately after 49 noted personalities including from cinema industry and historians wrote an open letter to PM Modi to lodge their protest over growing incidents of mob lynching and intolerance in the country. Those who have signed the letter include filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Shyam Benegal, Mani Ratnam, Aparna Sen, actors Konkona Sensharma, Soumitra Chatterjee, historian Ramchandra Guha, social workers Aditi Basu, Anuradha Kapoor among others.
The signatories stated in the letter that they are deeply concerned over a number of tragic incidents that have taken place in the country in recent times. They also said that controversies over chanting of ‘Jai Sri Ram’ has become a matter of concern.
The letter said that the slogan — ‘Jai Sri Ram’ has become a provocative ‘war-cry’ that has lead to many law and order problems in the country. “It is shocking to see that so much violence should be perpetrated in the name of religion! These are not the Middle Ages! The name of Ram is sacred to many majority communities in India. As the highest executive of this country, you must put a stop to the name of Ram being defiled in this manner,” reads the letter.
The letter further states that there is no democracy without dissent, adding that no one should be branded as anti-national or urban Naxals because of their dissent views.