New Delhi. There has been a political uproar over the recent statement of PDP leader Iltija Mufti, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. He had commented on Hindutva and Hindu religion, for which criticism is being received from all sides. Both Congress and BJP parties have reacted strongly to his statement.
What did Iltija Mufti say?
Speaking to news agency PTI, Iltija Mufti said, “There is a huge difference between Hindutva and Hinduism. Hindutva is a spirit of hatred, which was spread by Savarkar in the 1940s. Its objective was to establish the supremacy of Hindus and to show that India is only for Hindus. At the same time, Hinduism, like Islam, is a religion that promotes secularism, love and compassion. We should not distort it deliberately.”
He further said, “Today the slogan of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ is not being used as a symbol of Ramrajya, rather it is being used during mob violence. It is extremely unfortunate that Hinduism is being distorted in this way.”
Hindutva is a disease and it needs to be treated.
– Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltiza Mufti is saying this#IltijaMufti #Hindu pic.twitter.com/K8mSvLLGUr
— Mukesh Mathur (@mukesh1275) December 8, 2024
Congress reaction
Responding to Iltija’s statement, Congress leader Surendra Rajput said that it is wrong to defame any religion. He said,
“An entire religion should not be defamed on the basis of some incident. This should not happen with Sanatan Dharma or any other religion. Unfortunately, there are some fanatics and poisonous people on both sides. We should criticize the radicals on both sides. But no religion should be condemned.”
BJP also retaliated
BJP has given a strong reaction on this issue. Party leader Ajay Alok said, “The biggest disease is the Mufti family itself. This family is a problem not only for Jammu and Kashmir but for the entire country. If they consider Hindutva a disease, then they should stay away from it. If this disease has caught them, they will not be able to survive it.”
WATCH | BJP hits back at PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti’s statement on Hindutva
Akhilesh Anand (@akhileshanandd) with ‘Political Power Centre’ https://t.co/smwhXUROiK#vidhansabhaelections #MehboobaMufti #IltijaMufti #PDP pic.twitter.com/w5xeG6SwPC
— ABP News (@ABPNews) December 8, 2024
Why was there an uproar over the statement?
Iltija Mufti’s statement has come at a time when there is already a heated debate going on in the country regarding religion and secularism. Hindutva supporters have called his statement a direct attack on their religion. At the same time, some people believe that he has tried to clarify the difference between Hinduism and Hindutva.
#WATCH Jammu, J&K | PDP leader Iltija Mufti says, “There is a lot of difference between Hindutva and Hinduism. Hindutva is a philosophy of hate that Veer Savarkar spread in India in the 1940s with the aim of establishing the hegemony of Hindus and the philosophy was that India… pic.twitter.com/g1Sz4UyQxC
— ANI (@ANI) December 8, 2024
game of political profit and loss
This statement of Iltija Mufti is proving to be creating a stir in the political circles. While on one hand Congress and BJP are condemning his statement, on the other hand PDP has not yet given any official reaction on it.
