ALLEGING THAT an atmosphere of intolerance has prevailed in the country ever since the NDA came to power four years ago, Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday described the vandalism of statues as an attack on India’s culture and civilisation.

“When you vandalise any statue you attack the country’s civilization,” he said and alleged that BJP workers were primarily responsible for the trend. He said BJP pretends to oppose it but does not act against those responsible.

The Congress leader said BJP parliamentarians have made irresponsible statements in the past, calling Nathuram Godse a patriot and some targeting the Constitution. “It’s a well thought out conspiracy to damage secularism (dharmnirapekshata) and liberal ideology (udar vichardhara),’’ he told reporters in Bhopal.

In response to a question on a possible tie-up of the Congress with BSP, the Guna MP said it was need of the hour for parties with similar ideologies to work together. He said no decision has been taken on the tie-up but it would be better if these parties collaborate with each other.

The Congress last week won by-elections to Kolaras and Mungoli by a slender Margin compared to 2013 when the BSP candidates got substantial votes. The BSP did not field any candidate in the byelections, a decision that helped Congress retain both seats. Congress won Mungaoli by 2,123 votes unlike in 2013 when the margin was 20,765 votes. In Kolaras, the victory margin came down from 24,953 to 8,083.