 "Left attacks govt, warns of attempts to impose 'fascistic' set-up")
Leaders of various parties including the Left also criticised the government over its handling of the economy, saying that "jumla-nomics", a coinage indicating empty words, was being practiced and huge benefits being given to corporates and the rich at the cost of the social sector.
Intervening in the debate, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi alleged that the Opposition was raising issues like intolerance, return of awards and JNU "to scuttle government's development agenda". He also maintained that seditious slogans would never be tolerated.
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He claimed that the recent developments including those in JNU and Hyderabad university fit into "a jigsaw where the aim is to metamorphose the country into a Hindu Rashtra and creating a fascistic set-up as per the vision of the RSS".
Yechury said the sort of "intolerance" being displayed in higher education institutes was "chillingly reminiscent of the way Hitler used nationalism to establish fascism", adding that there was no mention of the "serious situation" prevailing in higher educational institutions in the address, including the happenings at Hyderabad University, JNU, IIT Chennai, FTII, as also now in the Allahabad University.
Maintaining that his was not an "alarmist claim" but one based on reality, he said the approach of the government has emboldened those giving hate speeches.
Yechury also termed the economic policies as just "jumla-nomics", saying "tall election promises have not been fulfilled" as he slammed the government of giving tax concessions of over Rs 5 lakh crores to big business and corporates.
If this tax was collected, the government would have had funds to expand three times the rural employment generation programme, he said, adding that the present policies were only benefitting the rich and the number of dollar billionaires was rising in India.
Yechury also raised questions regarding a US-India Business Council report which, he said, had mentioned that the government had "privately assured" that it would "not use compulsory licenses for commercial purposes.
The CPI(M) leader asked the government to come out with a clarification on the Council's report.
Referring to the government's proposal to link various benefits with the Aadhar cards, Yechury said the government was bringing the Aadhar Bill as a money bill so that the Upper House is not able to scrutinise it thoroughly.
He also pointed out that some years back when BJP was in opposition, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, then Leader of Opposition, had in an article in the BJP website written about the dangers of data security concerning Aadhar cards. Jaitley "just has to abide by what he had written then," he quipped.
Yechury said the government was using the "tyranny of majority" in Lok Sabha and said it should use these numbers to pass the Women's Reservation Bill in Lok Sabha, which has been passed by the Rajya Sabha almost six years ago.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar opposed these comments, saying the majority had been given by the people.
In reaction, Yechury referred to the words 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram' in the President's speech and said "the three 'S's in this phrase, being widely used by the government, were more than the two S's used in Hitler's secret police (SS or Schutzstaffel)."
D Raja (CPI) claimed that attempt was being made to "subvert" the constitutional rule and accused the government of wanting to suppress ideas of young minds as its actions in JNU and Hyderabad University showed.
He flayed the Centre over the arrest of JNU students union President Kanhaiya Kumar on sedition charges, alleging that anyone questioning the government is dubbed anti- national.
"By that logic, even Dr Ambedkar, Gandhi or Netaji could have been declared anti-national. ... Had they been alive now, they would also have been slapped with sedition charges by these powers", Raja said.
Referring to a speech by the President in Kerala, he said it seemed to him that when the President spoke of changes in IPC, he had removal of the sedition law in mind.
While RSS and Hindu Mahasabha have never participated in the freedom struggle, he said many of those who participated in the freedom struggle and made sacrifices were communist and added that he was "proud of being a communist".
On the foreign policy front, Raja said the government was making the country "subservient to American capitalist interests".
He also asked the government demonstrate its "political will" by passing the Women's reservation bill in the Lok Sabha.
Unfazed by the opposition attack, Naqvi said the government believed in all-round development of all communities whether downtrodden, backward or dalit as explicitly expressed in President's speech.
He accused the opposition of being in a spree to scuttle the development agenda of Narendra Modi government in the name of "award wapasi", "intolerance" or "incidents like JNU", and said when India was hosting Indo-African summit here attended by the heads of 54 African nations, "so called intellectuals", backed by the opposition, were returning their awards "dating back to Mohenjodaro and Harappa era".
These awards were not bestowed on them by the Narendra Modi government, the Minister said and asked "why did these people not return their awards when year after year so many people were killed in communal riots."
Certain forces with "feudal mentality" have not been able to digest the change of guard at the Centre and have initiated a drive against it, he said.
"When the nation was busy in 'Make in India' drive at Mumbai for country's all round development, certain forces where busy to break India by fuelling slogans like 'Afzal ham sharminda hain, tera qatil zinda hai'," he said.
"There are certain forces in the corridors of power, which were behind loot, corruption and lobbying. When the government weeded out such forces and 'dalals' from the corridors of power, baffled and gripped in disappointment, they are going all out against the government," Naqvi said.
He said late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was right when he said that barely 10% of the allocation percolated down to the beneficiary.
Attacking those raising the issue of intolerance, Naqvi said where were they when 124 people lost their lives in communal riots in 2005 followed by killing of 138 persons in 2006, 99 in 2007, 163 in 2008 and so on.
He accused the CPI of supporting the emergency when so many people were put behind bars. "That same CPI is now advocating the democratic rights in JNU", he said and added that he did not mind the statement of Kanhaiya when he attacked the government or the system but would not tolerate any force which will talk of ruining the country.
Naqvi said he did not know whether the video was doctored or not but the government would not tolerate forces out to ruin the nation by anti-India slogans.
The Minister said there has been a tradition of sloganeering in a democracy and they too had raised slogans like "Sinhasan khali karo, janta aati hai" but slogans for "inqalab" and "terrorism" are different and the slogans raised in JNU had smell of "fuelling terrorism" which cannot be tolerated under any circumstance.
"Desh ko kosa nahi ja sakta", he asserted and added such forces cannot be forgiven. "There are indeed forces out hatching criminal conspiracy with a prejudiced mindset," he said.
Participating in the debate, M S Gill (Cong) said the President's address should be brief and a concentrated piece unlike the present one which broke all records with mention of every petty thing.
He also stressed the need for early passage of the legislation to provide 33% reservation to women and said he was constrained to point out that even African countries had much larger representation of women.
"Why 33%, why not 50%. We have to increase it," he said and added that the prevailing representation of women was barely 12% which is one of the lowest in the world.
At the same time, he said, "Reservation is not the best way of doing it. Strength of a country is ultimately in a just India when everybody whether high or low gets prompt justice."
He also raised questions over the judicial system and demanded freeing of persons languishing in jails for 30-40 years. "Plenty of women have been locked up. Free those above 75 years or more. Let them go," he said.
Demanding launch of international flights from Amritsar airport besides expansion of aviation by allowing 30-50 seaters aircraft, he also sought widespread reforms in the agriculture sector asking the government to set up debt conciliation boards.
Unfortunately banks cannot touch "big names" despite the huge NPAs, but when it comes to catching a farmer with Rs 5,000 loan, it is very easy for them, Gill said.