No Room for 'Intolerant Indian'; President Bats for Free Speech

New Delhi: As debate rages over the violence at Ramjas College and Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur's Facebook post, President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said those in universities “must engage in reason discussion and debate, rather than propagate a culture of unrest”.

The President said there should be no room in India for the “intolerant Indian”.

“Our premier institutions of higher education are the vehicles on which India has to propel itself into a knowledge society. These temples of learning must resound with creativity and free thinking,” he said.

The views of Kaur, daughter of an Army officer killed in action against militants, evoked sharp reaction from Union Minister Kiren Rijiju who went on to ask, "who is polluting her mind".

"Protection and safety of our women and children must be a nationwide priority. The acid test of any society is its attitude towards women and children. India should not fail this test," he said.

"When we brutalise a woman, we wound the soul of our civilisation. Not only does our Constitution guarantee equal rights to women but our culture and tradition also celebrate the feminine as divine," he said.

Talking about the country’s rising growth rate, the President said: “For 50 years before Independence, the economic growth rate of India was 0% to 1%. In the 50s, our growth rate rose to 1-2%, in the sixties 3–4% and in the 90s, with economic reforms, to 6 to 7%. In the last decade, our growth rate has averaged around 8%, making us the fastest growing large economy of the world.”

"No one who holds any elected office has been invited by the voters to occupy that office. Each one has gone to the voters and pleaded for their votes and support. The trust placed by the people in the political system and those elected should not be betrayed," he said.

"Floor tests are not meant to be muscle tests. The opportunity to represent the people is not a right or entitlement but a moral obligation and duty. Our elected representatives owe it to the people of our country to act as models of exemplary conduct," he said.

He red flagged interruptions in Parliament saying it has increased from 9.95 per cent in 10th Lok Sabha to a shocking 41.6 per cent in the 15th Lok Sabha and about 16 per cent in the 16th Lok Sabha (up to the 10th session).