Savarkar was not a religious person, had no problem in consuming beef: Digvijaya Singh

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijay Singh said that Veer Savarkar was not religious and had no problem in consuming beef. During release of Salman Khurshid's new book 'Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times', P Chidambaram said like no one killed Jessica, nobody demolished Babri Masjid.

New Delhi: Amid heated debates on former law minister and Congress leader Salman Khurshid's new book 'Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times', Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh said that Veer Savarkar was not religious and had no problem in consuming beef. Digvijaya Singh and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram took part in the book release function on November 10.

"Hindutva has nothing to do with Hinduism. Savarkar wasn't religious. He had said why cow is considered 'maata' and had no problem in consuming beef. He brought 'Hindutva' word to establish Hindu identity which caused confusion in people," Singh said.

Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram claimed that secularism has moved away from acceptance to tolerance, and from tolerance to an uneasy coexistence. He also said that the idea of 'Ram Rajya' as proposed by Mahatma Gandhi, no longer stands true.

Commenting on Babri Masjid demolition case verdict, Chidambaram said like no one killed Jessica, nobody demolished Babri Masjid. "Whatever happened on Dec 6, 1992, was terribly wrong. It debased our constitution. After the Supreme Court judgement, things took a predictable course, within a year or so everyone who was accused was acquitted. So like no one killed Jessica, nobody demolished Babri Masjid," he said.

"That conclusion will forever haunt us in this country of Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, APJ Abdul Kalam, and after 75 years of Independence, we are not ashamed to say that nobody demolished Babri Masjid," Chidambaram further added.

"Due to passage of time, both sides accepted it (Ayodhya verdict). Since both sides have accepted it, it became a right judgement, not other way around. It's not a right judgement which both sides have accepted."

Salman Khurshid's book 'Sunrise Over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times' is focussed on Babri Masjid demolition case verdict. Drawing the ire of many, Khurshid drew parallels between Hindutva and ISIS, Boko Haram.

"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," Kurshid stated in his new book.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Amit Malviya shared this portion of the book on social media, while slamming the Congress leader by saying, "What else can we expect from someone whose party coined the term saffron terror just to draw equivalence with Islamic jihad, to get Muslim votes?"