Jammu: Former chief minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday alleged the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have "hijacked" meaning of "Hindutva and Hinduism".
Mufti termed the BJP and the RSS as 'sectarian parties' and said that these parties were not identifying Hindutva but seeking to harm the Hindu-Muslim alliance. She slammed the RSS and the BJP for 'pursuing a policy of religious hatred'.
"All religions, including Sanatan Dharma, teach religious tolerance, love and brotherhood. These parties cannot be associated with the real Hindutva or Sanatan Dharma. RSS and BJP have hijacked Hindutva and Hinduism in the name of their parties. They feel Hindutva and Hinduism are the BJP and RSS, but it is not so," Mufti said while speaking to media persons during her visit to Jammu.
Her comments came against the backdrop of senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid's book comparing Hindutva as propagated by some to radical jihadi groups such as the ISIS and the Boko Haram.
Responding to violence and lynching in the name of religion, Mufti said, "Parties that attack innocent people in the name of religion cannot have anything to do with Hindutva."
