New Delhi: BJP on Friday rejected former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's description of recent violent incidents as an "assault on the nation", saying he should have realised that these took place in states ruled by non-BJP parties, including Congress, and the Centre had nothing to do with them.
The ruling party also deprecated the Congress over its persistent the criticism of the Modi government on rising tolerance accusing the opposition party of running a "poisonous campaign to malign" the country's image due to its "intolerance" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Singh today deplored "blatant violation" of the right to freedom of thought by "some violent extremist groups" and shared the view that it was an "assault on the nation'.
Referring to Dadri lynching and murder of M M Kulburgi, BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said, "All these incidents have nothing to do with the Centre. Blaming the Modi government for intolerance is just an excuse as it is basically the intolerance of Congress to Narendra Modi that has made it run a poisonous campaign to malign India's image.
"It would be good if Singh had been more specific about these incidents as it would have made it clear that they happened in states ruled by his party," he said.
Congress should fight BJP politically and not malign the country's image by making unfounded allegations, he said.
Taking a swipe at the opposition party, he said, "The intolerance of Congress is with Modi giving Gita to foreign guests and earning appreciation from abroad for its rescue missions and handling of economy."
