Congress, SP flay Mohan Bhagwat, say Sangh should stop fooling people

New Delhi: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat came under attack from political parties on Monday including Congress and Samajwadi Party for his controversial remarks that India is a Hindu nation and Hindutva is its identity.

Coming down heavily on Bhagwat, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh, in a series of tweets, described the RSS chief as "Hitler" and said the Sangh should stop "fooling" innocent people by using religion in politics.

"I thought we had one Hitler in making but it seems now we have two! God save India!," Singh, also a known detractor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tweeted.

A day after the RSS chief made controversial remarks in Mumbai, Singh asked, "A question to Mohan Bhagwat – Is Hindutva a religious identity? What is its relationship with Sanatan Dharma? Is a person who believes in Islam, Christianity, Sikh Budhism, Jainism or any other religion also a Hindu? Would Mohan Bhagwatji pl clarify ?" Wondering "does word Hindu or Hindutava figure in any of our Veda, Upanishad, Gita, Puran or any other of our religious scripture ?, Singh also tweeted.

"RSS should stop fooling the innocent people by using religion in politics.We are proud of our Sanatan Dharm and its tolerance towards others," he said.

Hitting out at Bhagwat, Samajwadi Party accused the Sangh of practising politics of "hatred and separatism."

"They use such words and language to fan social tension," SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said.

Referring to various controversial statements from union ministers and leaders of BJP and VHP, Congress leader Manish Tewari alleged that there was a "concerted efforts" to polarise the country on religious lines. "...it is very evident that with the active connivance of the Central government there is an attempt of religious polarisation...The cultural identity of India is not of a monolithic state. India is not Pakistan," he said.

Bhagwat, who was in Mumbai on Sunday to attend golden jubilee celebrations of the VHP, had said, "Hindustan is a Hindu nation...Hindutva is the identity of our nation and it (Hinduism) can incorporate others (religions) in itself".