Intolerance debate: What Chief Justice TS Thakur said, and how media interpreted him Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, on Sunday weighed in on the debate over intolerance that has generated huge amount of heat and attention of late.Let's look at what he actually said.While talking to journalists at his residence two days after assuming office as the 43rd Chief Justice of India, Thakur said: "Yeh siyasi pahlu hain (this is a political issue). We have a rule of law. So long as rule of law is there, so long as there is an independent judiciary and so long as courts are upholding the rights and obligations, I do not think anyone has to fear for anything."On the political aspect of the debate, the CJI said: "Siyasi log iska kaise upyog karten hain aur kaise fayada uthayenge, 

rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify; outline: 0px;">main kuchch nahin kehna chahunga (I do not want to say anything on how politicians use this and try to take advantage of it), but we are committed to uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of all citizens."He further said, "India is a big country, we should not be afraid of anything. Yeh sab perception ki batein hain. Jab tak judiciary independent hai,koi baat ki dar nahi honi chahiye (These are all matters of perception. There is nothing to fear till the judiciary is independent).""We are committed to uphold the Rule of Law and protect right of all citizens of the society and people from all creeds and religions. There is no fear to any section of society," Chief Justice Thakur added.This was a clear, authoritative, unequivocal statement from Indian judiciary's highest chair. The CJI has taken a stand, reinforced faith in India's democratic institutions and allayed fear of its citizens. Let's now take a look at how the media chose to interpret the CJI's statement.The following are the headlines from some English language newspapers in India and some websites who reported on the event:The Indian Express, which was at the forefront of the 'intolerance' debate, carried this headline in its Delhi edition: "Tolerance must…no need to fear as long as judiciary is there: new CJI"