Godse preached Hindutva that spreads violence & hatred, killed Gandhi, preacher of Hinduism: Cong

The Congress on Thursday said Nathuram Godse preached Hindutva that spreads violence and hatred and that is why he killed Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest practising Hindu.

Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said the difference between Hinduism and Hindutva is the same as that between Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse, as the former preached Hindu religion and spread harmony and non-violence.

He said while Mahatma Gandhi's Hindu religion was about inclusiveness, Godse's Hindutva was about exclusiveness and killing anyone who talked of respect for all religions and 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'.

''In the last 200 years, who is the greatest practising Hindu in our country -- Mahatma Gandhi Ji. What Mahatma Gandhi Ji preached and gave is called as Hindu Dharma and what Nathuram Godse practised is called Hindutva. It is as simple as this,'' he told reporters.

''While Gandhi's Hindu religion is called Hinduism and Godse's religion is called Hindutva and that is what we believe in.... Why did Godse kill Gandhi and why Hindutva tried to kill Hindu religion? Because Gandhi had respect for all religions and 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'.

''Godse did not understand what the Rig Veda says and he only understood exclusiveness, while Gandhi's Hindu religion understood inclusiveness. Godse's Hindu religion is Hindutva and that does not understand those who talk of respect for all religions and Vaudhaiva Kutumbakam and that is why he shot and killed him,'' he said.

Vallabh said for preaching non-violence, one needs to have love and harmony and respect for others, which is not there in Hindutva.

''While Nathuram Godse preached Hindutva, Mahatma Gandhi was the preacher of Hinduism and the difference between them is that between Hinduism and Hindutva,'' the Congress leader said.

Vallabh also hit out at actor Kangana Ranaut for ''insulting'' Mahatma Gandhi and freedom fighters and said all awards given to her should be taken back and a case of sedition registered against her.

He dubbed Ranaut as an ''ignorant official actor'' and alleged it seems that she is deliberately trying to insult the Father of the Nation as part of a deep-rooted conspiracy to defame Gandhi's ideology and bring Godse's ideology.

The remarks came a day after Congress leader Manish Tewari said the Congress started down on a slippery slope when it deviated from the Nehruvian ideal of secularism and that he was confused about ''Hinduism qua Hindutva debate'' in the party.

Taking to Twitter, Tewari said he was in the Congress because he believed in the ''Nehruvian ideal'' that religion is a private space activity and should not be used in politics.

The BJP has been attacking the Congress over the remarks of its leaders Rahul Gandhi and Salman Khurshid. Rahul Gandhi said Hindutva teaches people to attack those of other religions, while Khurshid drew a parallel between Hindutva and the jihadist Islam of terror organisations such as ISIS and Boko Haram.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)