Hindutva debate: Congress recasts disciplinary panel

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 18

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday reconstituted the party’s disciplinary action committee naming former Defence Minister AK Antony as chairman. Veteran leader Ambika Soni, former MP Jai Parkash Agarwal and former Deputy CM of Karnataka G Parameshwara were named as members and party general secretary Tariq Anwar as member-secretary.

Comment: Hindutva vs Hinduism: Can Rahul orient party cadres in a way Gandhi and Nehru would have imagined?

The difference

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All that Mahatma Gandhi stood for is Hinduism. All that Nathuram Godse stood for is Hindutva. — Gourav Vallabh, Congress spokesperson

The reconstitution of the committee comes at a time when the party finds itself embroiled in a controversy over Hinduism versus Hindutva, a debate that started after former minister Salman Khurshid drew similarities between Hindutva and radical jihadi outfits ISIS and Boko Haram in his book on Ayodhya.

This was followed by Rahul Gandhi saying that Hindutva and Hinduism were distinct and that the former endorsed violence. The issue has triggered an internal debate with Punjab’s Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari on Wednesday taking to Twitter to say that the Congress had been going down a slippery slope ever since it distanced itself from Nehruvian socialism. Noting that the Hinduism versus Hindutva debate “confused him”, Tewari called for a larger debate on the issue. Responding, Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh today said: “All that Mahatma Gandhi stood for is Hinduism. All that Nathuram Godse stood for is Hindutva.”

“All Godse could understand is exclusiveness. Mahatma Gandhi understood inclusiveness of the Hindu religion … Godse killed Gandhiji because he spoke of inter-faith harmony,” he said. Vallabh slammed Kangana Ranaut for her anti-Gandhi remarks, calling her “ignorant government actor.” He demanded withdrawal of national awards given to her.