Siddaramaiah Sparks Controversy With “Hindutva vs Hindu” Comments

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah sparked controversy on Thursday as he claimed a difference between Hindutva ideology and the Hindu faith. He made these remarks while addressing a Congress event in Bengaluru.

He talked about “soft Hindutva,” which is seen as a political strategy to win moderate Hindu votes without losing those from minority communities. He questioned, “‘Soft’ Hindutva? What is ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ Hindutva?”

Siddaramaiah added, “Hindutva is Hindutva. I am a Hindu. Hindutva is different, and Hindu is different. Don’t we worship Ram? Are the BJP the only ones? Haven’t we built Ram Mandirs? Don’t we sing Ram Bhajans?”

“People sing bhajans during the last week of December. This is practiced in other villages too. Are the BJP the only ones? Aren’t we Hindus?” he questioned.

The BJP’s CN Ashwath Narayan hit back on the Karnataka CM swiftly. Narayan declared Siddaramaiah, and the Congress never had any clarity of issues with regard to Bharat or Hindutva. He accused them of appeasement politics.

“The Congress always practiced divisive politics. They don’t respect the law of the land. Why get into these religious aspects?” he insisted.