BENGALURU: Was it a mere slip of the tongue or KPCC president DK Shivakumar making a statement to boost his dismal performance record? He recently said that the Congress believed in the Hindutva of Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda, but not particularly the form preached by BJP ideologue Veer Savarkar. The statement created a flutter among Congress leaders, who scurried to find differences between two forms of the ideology.
Taking advantage of Congress leaders’ discomfiture, a BJP MLA, who did not want to be named, said, “Today, the Congress is talking of Hindutva, only because they are losing elections. They desperately need Hindu votes, and that is the reason they are doing temple runs. Voters accept only those who have adopted Hindutva wholly, and not those who just issue statements.”
Trying to control the damage, senior Congress leader B K Hariprasad said, “I met Shivakumar and spoke to him. What he meant was Hinduism, and not Hindutva.’’ Hariprasad clarified that Hindutva is a term that cannot accommodate the largeness of Hinduism. Congress’s media cell Chief B L Shankar said, “Hindutva is a narrow definition. I was standing next to Shivakumar when he made the statement, and I pointed it out to him.’’
Former party president Dr G Parameshwar too aired similar views, saying that Hindutva cannot encompass a vast and diverse country like India, with its rich history and legacy. KPCC working president Eshwar Khandre said, “Swami Vivekananda at the Chicago convention said that Hinduism preaches universal brotherhood, while the Mahatma believed in love and acceptance of all religions. But Savarkar’s Hindutva is narrow and exclusive and preaches ‘hate’.’’
Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor told The New Indian Express that Congress is purely a secular party which cannot accept Hindutva.Despite confusion all around, especially within his own party, Shivakumar has not officially issued any clarification.