"India is, was, and will be tolerant", Home Minister Rajnath Singh asserted in Parliament on Tuesday
Replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the situation arising out of incidents of intolerance in the country, he said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was being targeted in the name of intolerance.
"There have been attacks in the name of intolerance. We are not tolerant due to pressure from somebody but it's in our culture," he told the Lok Sabha, adding that anybody trying to disturb peace in the country would be dealt with strongly.
The union minister said the subject of the debate is "dangerous and self-destroying".
"This subject is dangerous and self-destroying. What kind of message are we sending to the world? This allegation is not against the government but against Indian society," the home minister said.
At the same time, Rajnath Singh asked the opposition parties to "honour the mandate the NDA government has got".
Rajnath Singh's assertive reply to the debate came after he was hauled over the coals by CPI(M) MP Mohammed Salim who accused him of stating that "After 800 years, India has a Hindu ruler' about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rise to power.
On Tuesday too, Modi was lambasted by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi who accused him of being silent on incidents of intolerance, and asked him not to learn "wrong lessons" from Pakistan.
"India is successful because we have given our people the space to talk. We have been peaceful because we have embraced our people and let them be part of the conversation. Our greatest strength is our tolerance," Gandhi said while taking part in the debate on intolerance.
"They (Pakistan) have failed because their leaders crush the voices that are inconvenient to them. Their biggest weakness is their intolerance. Let us not learn wrong lessons from them," he added.
Gandhi also asked the prime minister to start listening to the people.
"Will the prime minister start to listen to the voice of our people? Or will he stand by and watch as his colleagues trample on the voice of this country.
"Will he simply place the Constitution on an elephant and walk in front? Or will he do his job and defend what it stands for? Will he let our beautiful India continue to sing? Or does he think he can condemn our nation to silence?" Gandhi asked.
Gandhi accused Minister of State of External Affairs V.K. Singh of challenging the Constitution with his remarks on the killing of two Dalit children in Haryana.
"He called Dalit children dogs. He directly challenged the Constitution by equating Dalit children with dogs. How does the prime minister allow him to continue (in the council of ministers)?" Gandhi asked.
Gandhi said Modi did not speak on incidents such as the lynching of a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh and the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Maharashtra.
"Mohd. Akhlaq was killed in cold blood because he was a Muslim. Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi are shot dead in cold blood by fanatics. The man ultimately responsible for their protection remains silent," he said.
Gandhi also took a dig at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for his "manufactured protest" remarks against those who returned their awards over rising intolerance.
"Do you think people like Narayanmurthy, Raghuram Rajan and P.M Bhargava have nothing better to do then to manufacture protest against you? They are saying it because they are disturbed like millions of people in this country," Gandhi said.
"Give them the respect of trying to understand what disturbs them. Don't brush people aside. Go and listen to them," he urged.
