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15 Oct, 2015

Writers have “manufactured” a controversy & protest: Finance Minister – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday hit back at writers who have returned their Sahitya Akademi awards to protest against the alleged spike in intolerance under the Modi government, saying the agitators had manufactured a protest and were indulging in politics by other means due to their ideological intolerance.

While terming the killing of Mohammad Akhlaq for allegedly eating beef as “extremely unfortunate and condemnable”, Jaitley questioned the motive of several writers who have returned Sahitya Akademi awards by citing the rise of what they call “atmosphere of intolerance”.

“Is this protest real or a manufactured one? Is this not a case of ideological intolerance?” the finance minister asked, pointing out that “writers with Left or Nehruvian leaning” who enjoyed the patronage of the previous establishment are not comfortable with the Modi dispensation.

Read the rest: Writers have manufactured a controversy & protest: Arun Jaitley – The Times of India