Advani blasts Sena for attack

Condemning the NDA ally Shiv Sena’s attack on his former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni in Mumbai over organising a book release function for a former Pakistan foreign minister, BJP patron L K Advani on Monday expressed his concern over “an increase in cases of intolerance” in the country.

Advani’s larger worry came in the backdrop of Dadri mob lynching of a Muslim over rumours that he had cow meat in a meal.

“I could not contact Sudheendra ji.. I strongly condemn whosoever has done this,” said Advani when his attention was drawn to the fact that his aide and Reliance funded-think tank Observor Research Foundation’s Mumabi head’s face was smeared with ink by Shiv Sena activists in Mumbai protesting against organising a book release function for former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri.

Advani, in the same breath, told reporters on the sidelines of a function, that “of late we have seen an increase in cases of intolerance” and "this is a matter of concern for the nation”. The function was held for the release of 'Chanakya', a journal on strategic affairs. The former deputy prime minister  insisted that “democracy must ensure tolerance for a different point of view".

The book, Neither a Hawk nor a Dove: An Insiders Account of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy, was, however, launched in the evening after the Maharastra government ensured security for the event.

A day before, Advani had nudged Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the "Loktantra Prahari Abhinandan" function in the national capital to mark the 113th birth anniversary of Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan. While appreciating Modi’s effort, he had remarked, “you have made a good beginning. But, obviously, more need to be done”.