The BJP on Monday lashed out at Congress for making statements aimed at spreading hate and division in society as it targeted its leader Digivijay Singh for allegedly “insulting” Hindus.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told reporters that Singh in a recent statement had claimed that the word ‘Hindu’ did not exist, and maintained that such remarks of Congress leaders pointed t to not only their ignorance but also a deep-rooted conspiracy. He recalled the slogan ‘India is Indira and Indira is India’ used by DK Barooah, the Congress chief during the emergency to take a dig at the Opposition, saying for those who understand Hindu and Hindutva the country is “Mother India” and for those who don't “India is Indira”.
Since the Congress never apologised for this slogan, it remains the official stand of the party, he said. Even the slogan ‘Indira is India’ was inspired by a Nazi convention in which slogan ‘Hitler is Germany’ was raised, he alleged.
Attacking Singh, Trivedi said the Congress on the one hand describes its president Rahul Gandhi as a “janeu-dhari Hindu” (a Hindu who wears sacred thread) and on the other the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister claims that the term ‘Hindu’ does not exist.
He said Rahul should clarify his position on the issue noting that his great grandfather and the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had also dwelt at length on the word ‘Hindu’ in his famous book ‘Discovery of India’.
“The statement Digvijay Singh has made about the words ‘Hindu’ and ‘Hindutva’ is contemptuous and insulting,” he said.