The BJP today accused the Congress of making statements aimed at spreading hate and division in society as it targeted its leader...

The BJP today accused the Congress of making statements aimed at spreading hate and division in society as it targeted its leader Digvijay 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 claimed that such remarks of Congress leaders pointed to not only their ignorance but also a deep-rooted conspiracy.

Digvijay Singh

He recalled the slogan 'India is Indira and Indira is India' used by D K 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". The Emergency was promulgated by the Indira Gandhi government on June 25 in 1975. Since the Congress never apologized 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.

Rahul Gandhi should clarify his position on the issue: Trivedi

Rahul Gandhi should clarify his position on the issue, the BJP leader said, 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. Singh had earlier called terrorist Osama-bin Laden as Osama ji and alleged an RSS involvement in the Mumbai terror attack, he said. He accused the Congress of changing its position on different issues like a gymnast. "The basis of the Congress's politics is fear, confusion, and hate," he said.