News Analysis India

Tag: Hindutva

  • BJP’s Christian outreach in Goa with 30 per cent tickets

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: While the BJP is contesting on a Hindutva agenda in states like Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, in Goa it has changed tack as it realises that the road to power lies via the Christian vote bank. Of the 40 candidates fielded by the party, 12, i.e., 30 per cent, are Christians.

    The Christians comprise 25-27 per cent vote base in Goa, second largest after Hindus. However, Hindus do not vote as a block. Earlier, the BJP had tried its strategy of Hindu votes’ consolidation in the coastal state but that did not work. 

    “With Hindu vote bank politics, BJP never crossed 10 seat-mark in Goa Assembly. This time, it has decided to accommodate as many minority candidates as possible. Whether that works or not will be interesting to see because other parties are also banking on the same vote bank in the name of secular politics,” said a political observer.

    Among the BJP’s Christian candidate is Atanasio Monserrate, who has been fielded from Panaji denying ticket to former chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s son Utpal. A BJP leader admitted that the party wanted to send out a message to the minority community by preferring Monserrate over Utpal.

    Interestingly, Manohar Parrikar had a good support base among the Christian community, which helped him and the BJP remain in power for a long time.

    “Now, Parrikar is not around while his son Utpal has posed a challenge to the official BJP candidate. By denying ticket to Utpal, we have sent a message to the Christians that Monserrate is more important than him,” the leader said.

    The BJP had fielded six Christian candidates in 2012 elections and seven in 2017. Both times, all these candidates romped home. After 10 Congress MLAs joined the BJP in 2019, BJP’s Catholic MLAs’ in tally rose to 15.

  • Those who bow before Modi’s wrong decisions follow Hindutva: Rahul

    By PTI

    JAIPUR: In a scathing attack on the BJP and the RSS, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said those who bow before the wrong decisions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are the ones who follow Hindutva.

    He said those who face challenges head on are Hindus and those who run away from problems out of fear are the ones who follow Hindutva.

    “Those who believe in the ideology of Hindutva bow before anyone — they bowed before the British and they bow before money because there is no truth in their hearts,” Gandhi said in a virtual address to a Congress training camp organised by the Rajasthan unit of the party.

    He also said a prime minister from the Congress would have resigned for failing to discharge his duty had China occupied Indian territory.

    “Whereas the RSS people are engaged in hiding the violation of India’s borders by China under the Modi regime,” a release issued by the Congress quoted the former party chief as saying.

    Gandhi said he had once asked a gathering of Congress workers whether there was anyone among them who had run away from home and no one answered in the affirmative, adding that if the same question is asked at an RSS meeting, everyone would say “yes”.

    He said a person who runs away cannot fulfil any duty.

    The Congress leader alleged that those associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are spreading hatred and fear in the country.

    “We will not go back even an inch in our struggle. This is our ‘Lakshmanrekha’. The BJP’s ‘Lakshmanrekha’ is power and for the sake of power, it has always been changing the ‘Lakshmanrekha’ of its ideology, whereas the ‘Lakshmanrekha’ for the Congress is truth and we Congressmen stand by the truth,” he said.

    Gandhi said all religions, including Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity lead to the path of truth but “Hindutva” is a means to grab power.

    He said the country’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was jailed for 12 to 15 years but neither hatred nor vengeance overpowered him, whereas Vinayak Damodar Savarkar has mentioned in his book that he was most pleased when five of his companions together beat up a Muslim man with sticks.

    The Congress leader said no one can call Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru cowards because there was neither fear nor hatred in their hearts.

    Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge for Rajasthan Ajay Maken and state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra also addressed the three-day training camp, which concluded on Tuesday.

    He on Tuesday said the world is watching developments within the country, citing reports of “persecution” of Christians in India in a section of the global media.

    “While many in our own country are living with their heads buried in sand, the world is watching,” Gandhi said on Twitter referring to a report in ‘The New York Times’ titled ‘Arrests, Beatings and Secret Prayers: Inside the Persecution of India’s Christians’.

    “In times of injustice, silence is complicity,” the former Congress president said in the tweet with the hashtags “SpeakUp” and “NoFear”.

    Expressing concern over alleged provocative remarks made at a recent event in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said the country needs to understand the crux of the debate of ‘Hindu versus Hindutva’ started by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

    “Rahul Gandhi started a debate on Hindu versus Hindutva, and there is a need to understand its meaning. The crux was that on one hand, there is a Hindu whose great values have been there for centuries, whose expressions are of love and brotherhood and the forces which are doing politics in the name of Hindutva, their becoming Hindu is pseudo, they are fake Hindus,” he told reporters here.

    Extremely provocative speeches inciting violence against Muslims were allegedly made by participants at the event held at Ved Niketan Dham in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar from December 16 to 19.

    It was organised by Yati Narasimhanand, the priest of Dasna temple in Ghaziabad.

    Gehlot said the language used at the event was shameful.

    “We respect the saints and their saffron clothes itself give the message of sacrifice and culture, but the words that some of those saints have spoken were shameful and condemnable”, he said.

    The chief minister said people need to understand that the country is passing through a very difficult phase and at such a time, the country needs the Congress organisation, its ideology, policy and programmes.

    He asserted that no matter how much force is used, the agenda of “Congress-free India” will not be fulfilled.

    “Those who talk of ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’ will become ‘Mukt’,” he said.

    “Congress rules in the hearts of the people across the country. Everyone knows that in the freedom struggle, how many people went to jail and made sacrifices and gave a message of unity, which forced the British to quit India,” he said.

    Gehlot said that the Constitution is under threat, institutions are being destroyed, and the entire country is concerned.

    He said Congress workers should take a pledge to strengthen the party by following and spreading its principles, policies and programmes.

    “I would like to tell the party workers that the future of the country depends on you. You should brainstorm on the current situation, unite and stand firmly with the common man. Unite to face the challenges which are there in front of the country, be it inflation or unemployment,” he said.

  • Martina Navratilova reacts to Hindutva leaders’ hate speech video targeting minorities in India

    By Online Desk

    Tennis legend Martina Navratilova on Twitter reacted to the Hindutva groups’ “hate speech” video that had gone viral.

    The 18-time singles Grand Slam champion retweeted a video of Hindutva groups taking a pledge to “fight, die and if required, kill” in order to turn India into a Hindu Rashtra.

    A concerned Navratilova asked, “What is going on?!?”

    What is going on?!? https://t.co/PaUPY2mfsp
    — Martina Navratilova (@Martina) December 22, 2021
    Which led to a discussion of ‘rising religious intolerance in India’.

    Renowned journalist Rana Ayyub who joined the conversation, said, “Prelude to a genocide. World leaders will be complicit in looking the other way.”

    One of the users slammed Ayyub and said, “Few people are as divisive and prejudiced as you, Ms Ayyub. You keep your mouth shut.”

    Reacting to the comment Navratilova wrote, “Just another man telling a woman to keep her mouth shut. F… off…”

    Just another man telling a woman to keep her mouth shut. F… off…
    — Martina Navratilova (@Martina) December 23, 2021
    Following this, another user pointed out that the three-day event held in Haridwar was filled with such “hateful speeches”.

    For which the former world number one commented, “That’s just awful…”

    When another user informed the former tennis champion of another such event in Haridwar, which went on for three days with hateful speeches, Navratilova said, “That’s just awful…”

    ‘Is India still a democracy’: Opposition leaders slam ‘hate speech conclave’

    Several Opposition leaders, including those from the Congress and the TMC, on Thursday condemned what they said was a “hate speech conclave” held in Haridwar recently and called for strict action against those involved.

    All-India Trinamool Congress national spokesman Saket Gokhale demanded immediate action against the organisers and speakers of the Dharma Sansad held recently in Haridwar, where “hate speeches” were allegedly made against Muslims.

    Gokhale lodged a complaint in this connection at the Jwalapur police station in Haridwar district, asking the Station House Officer to register an FIR within 24 hours.

    At the event, several speakers allegedly made inflammatory and provocative speeches, calling for the killing of people from the minority community.

    Held at Ved Niketan Dham in Haridwar from December 17-20, the Dharma Sansad was organised by Yati Narasimhanand Giri of the Juna Akhada, who is already under police scanner for making hate speeches and inciting violence against Muslims.

    Amit Shah’s praise for Narendra Modi a joke, says Martina Navratilova

    Earlier in October, Navratilova also called Amit Shah’s praise for Narendra Modi a joke.

    Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “democratic leader”, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said even his critics will agree that the Union Cabinet has never functioned in such a democratic manner as it is functioning in the Modi government.

    This comment by the Home Miniter did not go down well with tennis legend Martina Navratilova. “And for my next joke…” she tweeted on Sunday night in reply to Shah’s eulogy of Modi as “India’s most democratic leader”.

    Along with the tweet, she added an emoticon for astonishment and another that resembles a clown.

    And for my next joke … https://t.co/vR7i5etQcv
    — Martina Navratilova (@Martina) October 10, 2021
    Rejecting allegations that Modi is an autocratic leader, Shah, in an interview to SANSAD TV, said that he has not seen a “patient listener” like the prime minister, who gives importance to all worthy suggestions given by anyone irrespective of their designation or position in the hierarchy.

    Shah had said Modi does not hesitate in taking political risks for decisions that are in national interest, and at times has taken bitter decisions for the welfare of the nation.

    (With Inputs From PTI)

  • Hindus believe every person’s DNA is unique: Rahul lashes out at RSS

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said those who have belief in Hindutva feel all Indians have the same DNA but those who are Hindus believe every persons has a unique DNA.

    The Congress leader’s remark has come after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said the DNA of all Indians is the same for 40,000 years.

    “Hindus believe that every person’s DNA is different and unique. Those who have belief in Hindutva believe that all Indians have the same DNA,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

  • Hindutva-Hinduism debate splits Congress leadership

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: As the Hindutva vs Hinduism debate rages in Congress following former party chief Rahul Gandhi’s recent comments, there is a split in the leadership. Some are worried that the party should avoid getting into this debate ahead of Assembly elections while others feel the party needs to talk about it to remain electorally relevant in its fight against BJP.

    Rahul’s comments that killing innocent people is not Hinduism but Hindutva invited wrath from various fronts. But crucially, his own party now appears divided over the matter. Senior leader and MP Manish Tewari said that Congress might have started a slide down on a slippery slope by deviating from the Nehruvian ideal of secularism and that he was confused about the Hinduism vs Hindutva debate.

    1/2 Ideal that Religion is a private space activity. Everyone has the right to practice,profess & propagate their religion in their private lives. In Public domain there should be a strict separation of the Church & State.I am a Hindu,I worship my God but that is not my politics
    — Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) November 17, 2021
    “In the Hinduism Versus Hindutva debate, some people in Congress miss a fundamental point. If I were to believe that my religious identity should be the basis of my politics, then I should be in A Majoritarian or Minoritarian Political Party. I am in the Congress because I believe in the Nehruvian ideal that religion is a private space activity,” Tewari said on Twitter.     

    Many in the grand old party feel that getting into this debate ahead of upcoming Assembly elections could be suicidal and that party leaders should avoid getting into this debate. The party is already battling references made by another senior party leader Salman Khurshid equating Hindutva with ISIS and Boko Haram.  

    However, some others in the party are for ‘soft Hindutva’ to reach out to people. They say  the party cannot woo people if it is seen as only for the minority sections. “The party cannot ignore the majority (Hindus) and have to reach out to them to win elections. It does not mean following the BJP style of spreading hate and anger in the name of religion. But making such (like Khurshid) statements will dent our chances and we will be projected as against the majority,” said a leader from Uttar Pradesh.

    Plagued with infighting in a few states, this internal debate is something Congress could have done without.

  • Apologise to the Hindus, Akhada Parishad tells Salman Khurshid

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN:  The head of a prominent Akhada council, said to be the apex body of all 13 akhada sects, has asked Congress leader Salman Khurshid to apologise to the Hindu community for comparing Hindutva to the Islamic terror groups ISIS and Boko Haram.

    Mahant Ravindra Puri, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP), said he would consider further steps after reading Khurshid’s book Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times.

    “Salman Khurshid should apologise to the Hindus for the absurd and objectionable comparison. Seers and saints will not let any such acts create a schism in Indian society. Ours is a society of ‘Sanatan’ culture, which is for spreading peace and prosperity across the world,” said Mahant Puri.

    Meanwhile, a forensic team of the state police on Tuesday visited Khurshid’s house that was vandalised and recovered seven empty cartridges of 32 bore bullets, one live . 32 bore bullet, blood samples on the glass window, ashes of inflammable substance and various other items.

    The team also spotted broken glasses of seven windows and one burnt door. The police have already given round-the-clock protection to the property.

    The Congress organised statewide protests against the alleged acts of vandalism. Party activists burnt effigies of the ruling BJP.

    On Monday, a mob carrying BJP flags chanted ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans and called Khurshid a Pakistani stooge.

    They allegedly vandalised his residence in Satkhali Tiura village in Shitla area of Mukteshwar in Nainital district of Uttarakhand. More than 20 people have been booked in the incident, said the senior police officials.

  • ‘One should not give importance to such statements’: Nitish chides Kangana, Khurshid

    By PTI

    PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday rubbished actor Kangana Ranaut’s remark about India getting Independence in 2014, saying, one should not even take notice of such things.

    Talking to reporters on the sidelines of his weekly public interaction programme ‘Janata Ke Darbaar Mein Mukhyamantri’, Kumar said he does not pay attention to people who make such statements for publicity.

    “How can anyone publish this? We should not even take notice of it. Should we even pay attention to it? One should not give importance to such statements. In fact, it should be made fun of,” he said.

    The actor had, in a recent interview, remarked that India got its freedom in 2014 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power and what it got in 1947 was “bheekh” (alms or handout).

    Her comments sparked outrage among politicians and common citizens alike.

    Many said she had insulted the country’s freedom fighters and their sacrifice, while some demanded that the government withdraw the Padma Shri award conferred on her recently.

    He also took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday over his comments making a distinction between Hindu religion and Hindutva, asserting some people say “unnecessary things” to stay in limelight.

    He was responding to questions from journalists on the sidelines of his weekly public interaction programme “Janata Ke Darbaar Mein Mukhyamantri”, where he also defended his government’s prohibition policy against opposition criticism following the recent death of around 50 people after consuming spurious liquor.

    “What should I say on this?” Kumar shot back when asked to comment on Gandhi’s remarks.

    Without naming Rahul Gandhi, Kumar said, “You should ask the person who has made the statement. Some people have developed an attitude to say unnecessary things to remain in the limelight. So that the media covers them. This practice is quite prevalent in Bihar where certain people (opposition leaders) level allegations against me to hog the limelight in newspapers.”

    Gandhi had recently said Hindu dharma and Hindutva are “different things” and accused the BJP and RSS of spreading hatred.

    The BJP shot back, claiming the Congress leadership nurses a “pathological hatred” for Hinduism.

    “Is Hinduism about beating a Sikh, or a Muslim. Hindutva, of course, is. In which book is it written? I have not seen it. I have read the Upanishads. I have not read it,” Gandhi had said, as he sought to draw a distinction between Hinduism and Hindutva.

    Gandhi’s remarks had come in the backdrop of the controversy kicked up by a book authored by senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid.

    In his book ‘Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times’ Khurshid had equated the “robust version” of Hindutva to Jihadist Islam of terror groups like ISIS and Boko Haram.

    Responding to questions about the recent incidents of hooch deaths, Kumar said he has called a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the issue of liquor ban.

    “I am once again saying that stern action will be taken against violators, including government officials,” he asserted.

    He, however, insisted the crime rate in Bihar has come down after the liquor ban was imposed.

    “The state government will again start the campaign to spread awareness about the ill-effects of drinking. I am not bothered about those who are criticising me for the liquor ban,” he said.

    The Nitish Kumar government had on April 5, 2016 banned the manufacture, trade, storage, transportation, sale and consumption of liquor in the state.

    Amid mounting criticism from the Opposition over deaths caused by spurious liquor, Kumar is also facing heat from his ally BJP, which has sought a review of the state’s prohibition policy.

  • Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal dispatches Bhagavad Gita to Rahul Gandhi amid Hindutva row

    By PTI

    PATNA: Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal on Sunday dispatched a copy of the Bhagavad Gita to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, whom he charged with having a lack of understanding of Hindutva through utterances made in support of controversial remarks in a recent book authored by former Union minister Salman Khurshid.

    Addressing a press conference here, Jaiswal called Gandhi “the most confused leader in the country” who was unable to appreciate the basics of Hinduism despite “so many publicised tours of temples.”

    Jaiswal, who was formerly the BJP’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, said Gandhi’s attempts to distinguish Hinduism from Hindutva was “height of ignorance” and a reflection on the belief of the Congress in the dictum of “divide and rule.”

    “Gandhi has claimed that he has read the Upanishads. We wish to know if he read an Italian translation,” Jaiswal said in an indirect tongue-in-cheek reference to AICC president Sonia Gandhi.

    A former Congress president himself, Gandhi had defended party colleague Khurshid, who is in the eye of a storm over a book in which the latter has sought to draw parallels between Hindutva, a term associated with the ideology of the BJP-RSS combine, and the radical Islam propagated by terrorist outfits like ISIS and Boko Haram.

    The comparison has met with disapproval from within the Congress.

    Senior leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad had said that drawing such a parallel was uncalled for.

  • Should get it translated for clarity, says Salman Khurshid amidst Hindutva controversy

    By ANI

    SAMBHAL: Taking a dig at those who targeted his book over comparison between Hindutva and ISIS, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Saturday said that those ‘poor in English’ should get it translated for clarity as he has used the word ‘similar’ and not ‘same’.

    “There is word ‘similar’ in English which means having a resemblance. I regret that I wrote in English; they seem poor in English, should get it translated for clarity,” he said.

    Salman Khurshid reacted after Bharatiya Janata Party reacted furiously over the excepts of the book.

    BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on Friday said that the Congress party’s attack on Hinduism is not a coincidence but an experiment. He alleged that the nature of Congress is to attack Hinduism whenever they get a chance.

    The former union minister Salman Khurshid further said that the enemies of Hinduism are those who are trying to defame the religion.

    “Those who misuse religion, irrespective of what religion they follow, are the enemies of religion. ISIS and Boko Haram defame Islam but no Islamic followers opposed it. I had not said ISIS and Hindutva same, I had said that they are similar,” Khurshid said.

    Speaking to media persons during his visit to Kalki Dham, he said, “I am visiting Kalki Dham. I would not be here if I would have any issue with any religion. I believe that Hinduism spread peace in the world.”

    “It seems that some people are trying to defame Hinduism. They are enemies of Hinduism and are afraid that their truth will come out. They will ban any book which reveals their truth,” he added.

    On Wednesday, Khurshid got embroiled in controversy for allegedly “defaming and comparing Hinduism with terrorism” in his recent book “Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times”.

    Khurshid’s book on the Ayodhya verdict was released last week. It explored the Apex Court’s landmark judgement on the Ayodhya dispute. Senior Congress leader Khurshid has compared Hindutva to radical terrorist groups like “ISIS and Boko Haram”.

    Meanwhile, two Delhi lawyers have filed complaints on Thursday with Delhi Police against Khurshid, for allegedly defaming and comparing Hinduism with terrorism in his book.

    The development comes at a time when seven states in the country namely Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat are slated to go for assembly elections in the year 2022.

  • Suit filed in Delhi court against Salman Khurshid’s book; BJP continues to attack Congress

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: An injunction suit has been filed before a Delhi court seeking to stop the publication, circulation, and sale of ex-Union minister Salman Khurshid’s book for allegedly hurting the sentiments of a large section of society, the lawyer of the complainant said on Saturday.

    The suit was filed by right-wing group Hindu Sena’s president Vishnu Gupta.

    Senior Congress leader Khurshid has sparked controversy by reportedly comparing a “robust version” of Hindutva to the jihadist Islam of terror groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram in his book ‘Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times’.

    Gupta’s counsel Akshay Aggarwal and Sushant Prakash claimed that the book’s launch event before the assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, slated for early next year, was aimed at polarising and gaining the votes of the minorities.

    The petition seeks prohibitory injunction against the publication, distribution, circulation and sale of the book and also ban it “in the larger interest of the society and country”.

    The Hindu Sena on Friday demanded a ban on the book, alleging that Khurshid’s statement harms social integrity and hurts the religious sentiments of Hindus.

    In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta said the comparison made in the book is an attempt to demonise the Hindu religion.

    Khurshid’s comments in his book have sparked a row with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday maintained that Hinduism and Hindutva are “different things” and slammed the ideology of the BJP-RSS alleging it has spread hatred in India, drawing a sharp retort from the BJP which claimed that the Congress leadership nurses a “pathological hatred” for Hinduism.

    Khurshid, who stood by his remarks made in his new book on the Ayodhya verdict, had come under attack on Thursday from the BJP as well as his party colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad.

    The opposition BJP in Chhattisgarh on Saturday submitted a complaint to Raipur police seeking registration of an FIR against Congress leader Salman Khurshid for allegedly hurting religious sentiments by comparing Hindutva to radical jihadist groups like ISIS and Boko Haram in his recently released book.

    The party also sought registration of a case against senior Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh for taking part in the book release function and, thereby, supporting Khurshid’s act.

    BJP MLAs Brijmohan Agarwal, Ajay Chandrakar, Shivratan Sharma and Narayan Chandel and Rajya Sabha MP Ramvichar Netam submitted the complaint in Civil Lines police station.

    “We have received a complaint from BJP leaders and further action will be taken after investigation,” said Satyaprakash Tiwari, Station House Officer (SHO) of Civil Lines police station.

    In the complaint, BJP leaders claimed Khurshid, in his book ‘Sunrise over Ayodhya, Nationhood in Our Times’, has compared Hindutva to Islamist terror groups like ISIS and Boko Haram and this was an insult of Hinduism.

    The BJP claimed on Saturday that India was partially a “Muslim nation” when it was in power as sharia provisions were then part of the legal system and measures were taken to give them primacy even over Supreme Court judgment.

    BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi alleged that the violence in Maharashtra over the “false” news of mosques being targeted in Tripura and Congress leaders’ comments attacking Hindutva were part of a conspiracy.

    Attacking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he wondered if the opposition leader was training his party workers in Maharashtra in defaming Hindutva and driving an organised campaign to stole communal discord and violence.

    It was during his speech via video conferencing to Congress workers at a training camp in the state that Gandhi had sought to draw a distinction between Hinduism and Hindutva, and had attacked the latter.

    The BJP has been on the offensive after Congress leader Salman Khurshid compared Hindutva, a term associated with the RSS-BJP ideology, with terrorist Islamist organisations.

    Noting that Shivaji’s rule was also associated with Hinduism, Trivedi said leaders like Rahul Gandhi cannot comprehend the concept and asked him to read up his own party stalwarts like Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Jawaharlal Nehru.

    Nehru, he added, had written that the word ‘Hindu’ can be understood in the broader context of Indian identity and should not be seen narrowly.

    “Under the Congress rule India was partially a Muslim nation. I am saying so because sharia provisions were part of the constitutional system,” the BJP leader said, referring to the practice like instant talaq, now barred, and grant of Haj subsidy, since discontinued.

    “Supreme Court judgment was overruled to give primacy to sharia provisions,” Trivedi said in an apparent reference to the Rajiv Gandhi government bringing a law to override an apex court order in the famous Shah Bano case.

    He took a swipe at Congress leaders for giving their “wisdom” on Hinduism and referred to their use of terms like Hindu Taliban and Hindi terrorism to hit out at them.

    These are the same people who do not want a proud India to bloom in all its glory, and are trying to stop its rise, he claimed.