Copycat Hindutva won't work: Jaitley

The BJP on Saturday took the war of words with the Congress over Hindu and Hindutva a step further by asserting its Hindutva roots and dubbing the Opposition party a clone. The BJP also sought “Shiv bhakt” Rahul to clear his stand on Lord Ram, whose existence was denied by the Congress-led UPA in 2007 in the Supreme Court that was hearing the Ram Sethu matter.

“The BJP has always been seen as a pro-Hindutva party and if someone wants to mimic us, I do not have any complaint. But there is a basic principle in politics, if an original is available, why would anyone prefer a clone?” Union Finance Minister Arun Jailtey told the media in Surat.

Jaitley’s digs were in response to senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s charge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is no longer a Hindu as he had completely embraced Hindutva. It was also aimed at the temple-visiting Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

In Vadodara, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi questioned Rahuls’ claim that he was a “Shiv bhakt” and asked him to clear his stand on Lord Ram. The Congress-led UPA Government had, in an affidavit on the Ram Sethu filed in the Supreme Court, denied the existence of Lord Ram, she said. She said Rahul should first accept the existence of Lord Ram before claiming to be a “Shiv Bhakt”.

During his visit to Somnath Temple earlier this week, Rahul’s media coordinator had mentioned the Congress vice-president’s religious status as “non-Hindu” in an entry book of the temple. This ignited a fresh controversy over the Gandhi-Nehru family’s religion. While Rahul himself asserted to be a “Shiv Bhakt”, the Congress came to his defence terming him a janeu-dhari Hindu.

Jaitley also showcased the BJP’s stupendous performance in the UP civic polls and the Congress’ dismal show, saying the grand old party is on the cusp of extinction and will meet a bitter defeat in Gujarat.

“While the BJP has maintained its credibility, the Congress is slowly becoming extinct. The results haven’t been out yet and they have already started making excuses for their defeat,” he remarked when asked about allegations of EVMs’ tampering.

Coming down heavily on the erstwhile UPA regime under Monmohan Singh, Jaitley called it the “most corrupt” and “leaderless” Government in Indian history.