Manmohan warns of imminent danger, says economy to be affected
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said the nation is deeply concerned at the recent tragic instances of blatant violations of the right to freedom of thought, belief, speech and expression in our country by some “violent extremist groups”.
“The assault or murder of thinkers for no more than disagreement with their views or because of the food they eat, or their caste, cannot be justified on any grounds. Nor can the suppression of the right to dissent be allowed. All right-thinking people in the country have condemned such incidents in the strongest terms as an assault on the nation,” Dr Singh said.
But the ruling BJP rejected Dr 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 the Congress, and that the Centre had nothing to do with them.
It also deprecated the Congress for its persistent 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” towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Capital is likely to be frightened away by conflict,” Dr Singh, who is known as the architect of India’s economic reforms, said in an apparent message to the Narendra Modi dispensation that is promoting Make in India.
Dr Singh was addressing a national conference on “No Peace Without Freedom, No Freedom Without Peace: Securing Nehru’s Legacy and India’s Future: Agenda for Action”.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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