Weighing in on the side of those alleging "rising intolerance" in India, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said that the atmosphere in the country at present undermines pluralism like never before.
"Incidents of intolerance and hatred have never before affected the country so severely like the present ones, which are denting the age-old plural character of the country," Gogoi said in a statement here.
The Assam chief minister also referred to President Pranab Mukherjee's and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan's comments in this regard.
"The President of India had to intervene thrice in a short span of time to reinforce the country's plural character for living in peaceful co-existence," he said, adding that Rajan and scores of writers, artistes and scientists, too, have sought to remind the nation of the value of pluralism and peaceful co-existence.
Congratulating all who voiced their concern over growing intolerance, Gogoi said were it not for their strong and spontaneous protests, divisive forces would further get encouraged to carry on with their nefarious designs.
The chief minister also said that at the present juncture, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's advice on the need to adhere to 'rajdharma' can bail the country out.
He said that though it is late, but in the interest of the nation and for the sake of unity and integrity, only adherence to 'raj dharma' by the Modi-led NDA government can bail the country out from the climate of "growing intolerance" and preserve India's diversity, plurality and tolerance.
In the wake of riots in Gujarat in 2002, Vajpayee had told Modi that, as a chief minister, he must adhere to 'raj dharma' and not discriminate on the basis of caste, creed or religion.
