Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message on unity in diversity against the backdrop of incidents of growing intolerance and hatred in the country has not been “loud and clear”. In a statement here on Monday, Gogoi said Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio programme on Sunday did not articulate the strong resentment brewing in the country in the backdrop of incidents of violence laced with communal and casteist overtones.
“PM Modi’s Mann Ki Baat failed to send a strong message in the backdrop of the volatile situation prevailing in the country with incidents of intolerance and hatred on the rise,” Gogoi said.
Modi, who, he said, is vocal and decisive in taking quick decisions shows no signs of alacrity and urgency to rein in the growing incidents of intolerance and hatred that pervade the atmosphere of the country.
“There was no sense of urgency in PM Modi’s message, as he did not spell out the line of action to contain the inimical forces that threaten to bring about discord in diversity,” Gogoi asserted.
When certain forces are trying to impose will on others fraught with dangerous implications for the country, the Prime Minister did not underscore the need to forge in unity to promote diversity, he said. Gogoi said he failed to comprehend why the present dispensation at the Centre did not convene a meeting of the National Integration Council to discuss the volatile situation in the country and for adopting pragmatic and effective measures to tide over the situation.
“If it is not a proper time to call for a meeting of National Integration Council, then when will the time come?” he asked.
Slams Centre, Modi over Fulbright issue
Meanwhile, Gogoi said that the removal of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s name from the India-US Fulbright scholarship programme was “unfortunate” and exposed the “vindictive attitude and narrow mindset” of the central government. Gogoi also said that the present dispensation at the Centre was attempting to replace Nehru’s domestic and foreign policy legacy with its own.
“The decision to shed Nehru’s name from the scholarship programme that benefited tens of thousands of students is really unfortunate and uncalled for. Is the present dispensation trying to relegate Nehru’s contribution in laying the foundation of modern India and his rich domestic and foreign policy legacy to the back burner and replace them with its own? Is the Centre trying to rewrite history by removing the icons of our freedom struggle,” Gogoi asked.
“The Centre earlier took a retrogressive step to discontinue postage stamps on former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and belittled their contributions to the making of modern India. All these decisions expose the vindictive attitude and narrow mindset of the present BJP-led government,” the chief minister said. (Agencies)
