Describing saffron colour as "religiously ideal" for Hindus, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh today said he had never used the word "Bhagwa Aatankwad" (saffron terrorism).
"I have never used the word Bhagwa Aatankwad. I have used the term 'Sanghi Aatankwad' (Sanghi terrorism). Saffron is the ideal colour for us in religious matters," Singh, who recently completed "Narmada Parikrama," told reporters here.
He added, "The colour of terrorism is neither green nor saffron. It may be any religion, fanaticism spreads hatred and then terrorism is born."
Asked if the Congress was pursuing an agenda of "soft Hindutva" vis-a-vis BJP, Singh said, "There is no word as Hindutva in my dictionary. This word has nothing to do with the Hindu religion."
Asked about the acquittal of Swami Aseemanand and four others in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case by the Special NIA Court in Hyderabad yesterday, the Congress leader said, "After this government (Narendra Modi government) came to power, I had already said the people of right-wing extremism involved in terrorist incidents would be acquitted."
He said, "There are BJP governments at the Centre and in Madhya Pradesh. Even if Shivraj (Singh Chouhan) is trying to say that there is conspiracy behind the scarcity of the notes, then this statement reveals their abilities."
He said, "It is obvious that lack of employment is creating frustration among the educated youths of upper castes. There is a lot of contribution to this by the people (BJP leaders) who are in government now. They had earlier ensured confrontation between Hindus and Muslims. Now they are creating a gap between Dalits and upper castes."