IANS
New Delhi

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh yesterday said the country is deeply concerned at the “blatant violation” of right to freedom of thought, belief and speech and termed incidents of attack on thinkers and violence over food habits an “assault” on the nation.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the national conference on “No peace without freedom, No freedom without peace: Securing Nehru’s vision and India’s future”, he, referring to recent incidents of violence, said attacks on people for their beliefs or the food they eat cannot be justified on any grounds.
“The nation is deeply concerned at the recent tragic incidents of the blatant violation of the right to freedom of thought, belief, speech and expression in our country by some violent extremist groups,” he said.
Raising the pitch of Congress attack on the Narendra Modi government over intolerance, he said secularism is an article of faith for the Indian republic.
“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,” said Manmohan Singh.
He stressed no religion, which is a private matter, can become the basis of public policy or governance, nor can any religious belief be imposed on anyone in a secular republic, whose survival depends on unity and respect for diversity, secularism and pluralism.
Paying glowing tributes to India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Manmohan Singh said Nehru is a kindred spirit for the youth of today and was re-emerging as the centre of gravity of Indian political thought.