Can't comprehend intolerant India, says Pranab Mukherjee

His statements came under sharp criticism. The BJP accused Ansari of politicising the issue and also added that it was unbecoming of a person who held a constitutional position to make such remarks.

I fail to comprehend an intolerant India said former President of India Pranab Mukherjee.

"I can understand the dissenting and argumentative India but fail to comprehend the intolerant India," he also said. He was speaking at the launch of historian and Trinamool Congress leader Sugata Bose's book 'The Nation as Mother and Other Visions of Nationhood.'

"The depiction of nation as a mother is an emotional and human construct rather than a religious identity," he further added.

Mukherjee stressed on the need for healthy debates on "the kind of nation we want to build."
The statements by the former president come in the wake of a raging debate over intolerance in India. Hamid Ansari said a day before he stepped down as vice president that India had become extremely intolerant. He also said that Muslims were living in fear in India.

His statements came under sharp criticism. The BJP accused Ansari of politicising the issue and also added that it was unbecoming of a person who held a constitutional position to make such remarks.

OneIndia News