Hindu and Hindutva are not different things: Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi

New Delhi, Dec 22: Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his Hindutvadi remark, saying that Hindu and Hindutva are not different.

In an apparent dig at Rahul Gandhi, without mentioning the Congress leaders name, Bhaiyyaji Joshi said "those who are busy raking controversies are laying the foundation stone based on rumours."

"'Hindu' and 'Hindutva' are not two different ideas. They are the same. The unnecessary controversy around this topic is an attempt to create misconception," said Joshi.

The RSS leaders statement comes in the wake of Rahul Gandhi's continued 'Hindutva' attack ahead Uttar Pradesh elections.

Rahul Gandhi has maintained that Hinduism and Hindutva are "different things" and slammed the ideology of the BJP-RSS alleging it has spread hatred in India, drawing a sharp retort from the BJP which claimed that the Congress leadership nurses a "pathological hatred" for Hinduism.

"Is Hinduism about beating a Sikh, or a Muslim. Hindutva, of course, is. In which book is it written? I have not seen it. I have read the Upanishads. I have not read it," Gandhi said, as he sought to draw a distinction between Hinduism and Hindutva, a term widely used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS).

"What is the difference between Hinduism as we know it and Hindutva. Are they the same thing. Can they be the same thing. If they are the same thing, why don't they have the same name. Why do they have a different name. Why do you use the word Hinduism, why not just use Hindutva if they are the same thing.They are obviously different things".

The remarks by Gandhi that escalated the political heat between the BJP and the Congress ahead of the assembly polls in five states including Uttar Pradesh came a day after senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid sparked a row by comparing a "robust version" of Hindutva to the jihadist Islam of terror groups such as the ISIS and Boko Haram.

Khurshid, who stood by his remarks made in his new book on Ayodhya verdict, had come under attack from the BJP as well as his party colleague Ghulam Nabi Azad.