2.6.15

Religious Freedom Is Non-Negotiable: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned BJP members from spreading communal hatred, acknowledging that provocative comments made by some of his party colleagues were “totally uncalled for“ and declaring that constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and non-discrimination were “non-negotiable“.
Asked by the news agency UNI about some BJP members spreading communal hatred, the PM said, “Some unfortunate comments have been made, which were totally uncalled for. Our Constitution guarantees religious freedom to every citizen and that is not negotiable...any discrimination or violence against any community will not be tolerated. My position on this is very clear: Sab ka saath, sab ka vikas. We stand for every one of the 1.25 billion Indians regardless of caste or creed and we will work for the progress of every one of them.“
The PM's comments in an interview to the news agency , stood out for the forthright admission that some of his party colleagues were in the wrong.
Though broadly a reiter tion of the public rebuke to in-house hardliners, including MoS Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Giriraj Singh, and outspoken MPs Mahant Adityanath and Sakshi Maharaj, observers were quick to point out that the statement was a departure from earlier efforts to establish an equivalence by assigning the blame to the unknown and unidentifiable “whoever responsible“.
The controversial statements and actions of allied Sangh outfits embarrassed the government, and were used by its opponents to allege that Modi's campaign promise not to discriminate among communities on grounds of faith was a mere ploy . On Monday , Modi asserted that he would exclusively focus on growth acceleration and job creation. “Our focal point is clear: Vikas, Vikas, Vikas; jobs, jobs, jobs.“

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