Sanatan Dharma and Hindutva are different, BJP does politics of hatred: Digvijay Singh!

Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Friday launched a new attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party over its interpretation of Hindutva. He claimed that this ideology promotes hatred instead of Hindu religion and has nothing to do with Sanatan Dharma.

Digvijay Singh said that BJP started talking about Sanatan Dharma when I raised this issue. Their religion is Hindutva, not Sanatan. Hindutva spreads hatred, not Hindu religion. Savarkar himself had said that Hindutva has nothing to do with religion.

The statement of this senior Congress leader has started a new political debate regarding the meaning of Hindutva and Sanatan Dharma. Pointing out the difference between these two, Digvijay Singh has raised questions on the ideological stance of BJP.

Digvijay Singh, who is traveling from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, said these things while talking to the media in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh during his 'Satya Sanatan Swabhiman Yatra'.

He said that Sanatan Dharma means respecting all religions and working for the welfare of the entire world. In contrast, he accused organizations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) of following an ideology that, according to him, promotes hatred.

Digvijay Singh also alleged that BJP started mentioning Sanatan Dharma when he raised the issue. He said that the ideological understanding of BJP is based on Hindutva rather than the broader philosophy of Sanatan Dharma.

On this controversy, Congress leader Udit Raj also criticized BJP and RSS for their interpretation of Hindutva. Referring to the definition of Hindutva given by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, he questioned the emphasis given on Janmabhoomi and Holy Land.

Udit Raj said that Hindutva was first defined by Savarkar, in which he talked about 'Punyabhoomi' and 'Janmabhoomi'. This creates differences between humans.

For example, it is assumed that India is the birthplace of Muslims and Christians, but is not a holy land. He also mentioned the sacrifices made by people of different communities during India's freedom struggle.

He claimed that about 61,000 Muslims and about 8,000 Sikhs had sacrificed their lives, while he also alleged that the contribution of Hindus was negligible in comparison.

Raising questions on the politics related to Hindutva, Raj called it an ideology that divides people. He challenged BJP and RSS to talk about the country's history and freedom struggle.

He said that this is not Hindutva, this is an attempt to divide people. Who is a Hindu here? I don't think there is a single person here who is a Hindu.