Senior minister of Uttar Pradesh and government spokesperson Sidharth Nath Singh has raised serious questions on the Congress mentality vis-a-vis Hindutva and Hindus. He said that some derogatory remarks about nationalists and Hindus by a senior Congress leader showed the true character of the Congress.
"Congress owes an explanation to the whole country whether this is its thinking about Hindus and if it is then why," Singh said while taking a strong exception to the comments made by Salman Khurshid about Hindus in his book.
A passage in Khurshid's new book, ‘'Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times’, reads: "Sanatan dharma and classical Hinduism known to sages and saints were being pushed aside by a robust version of Hindutva, by all standards a political version similar to the jihadist Islam of groups like ISIS and Boko Haram of recent years.”
In a statement on Thursday, Singh said it was surprising that any political party and its leaders could be so anti-Hindu as to compare nationalist Hindus with terrorist organisations like ISIS and Boko Haram.
"Such remarks are not only a threat to communal harmony but also to the integrity of the country. Hindus of India will never tolerate this because such thoughts are only an insult to their nationalist spirit," he pointed out.
Sidharth Nath Singh said that political differences did have their place but nationalist ideology should not be compromised as manifested by the Congress.
"It is regrettable that Salman Khurshid in his book has made very objectionable remarks about Hindus crossing all limits because of pro-Muslim and anti-Hindu slant of the Congress," the UP minister remarked.
He said that not only Salman Khurshid but the Congress party should also come out and make clarification about the comments on the Hindus.