Reacting to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s remarks at the golden jubilee celebrations of the VHP in Mumbai on Sunday where he said, “Hindustan is a Hindu nation...Hindutva is the identity of our nation and it (Hinduism) can incorporate others (religions) in itself,” the Samajwadi Party accused the organization of practising the politics of “hatred and separatism” and of using “language” that would “fan social tension.”
Former Union Minister Anand Sharma told PTI that the “RSS does not have proprietary right over the Hindus or their faith, which is tolerant and all embracing.”
In the same vein, Congress leader Manish Tewari said, “The cultural identity of India is not of a monolithic state. India is not Pakistan.”
The CPI(M) described Mr. Bhagwat’s comments as part of a series of “objectionable” statements made by various Sangh Parivar members. In a statement, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said, “Hindutva is a majoritarian concept, part of the narrow and divisive agenda of the RSS.” “People must reject such statements,” it continued, “and uphold their unity based on their common citizenship irrespective of caste and creed.”
Meanwhile, the Dal Khalsa, a radical Sikh organisation, in a statement said it would not allow the RSS to implement its “fascist agenda in Punjab” and foil its attempt to divide Hindus and Sikhs on communal lines.
