"Some people have developed phobia of Hindutva": BJP's Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi slams Iltija Mufti

Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh) [India], December 9 : Bharatiya Janata Party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday slammed People's Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti for calling Hindutva a "disease."
He said that those who were unaware of the 'sanskriti and sanskar' of the country needed to be given a message about "Sanatan culture" again.
"Hindutva is desh ki 'sanskriti' hai, 'sanskar' hai... and those who are unaware of the 'sanskriti and sanskar' of this country definitely need to be given a message about Sanatan culture once again," Naqvi said.
He further remarked that Hindutva gives a message of taking all sections of society together and moving forward with inclusive thinking.
"As far as the question is concerned, Hindutva gives a message of taking all sections of society together and moving forward with inclusive thinking. There is no need to give any knowledge about this," he said.
"Some people have developed a phobia of Hindutva, and those with such a phobia of Hindutva should study about it once. They should understand," Naqvi added.
Earlier on Sunday, PDP leader Iltija Mufti, daughter of former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti, clarified her 'controversial' post where she expressed a strong criticism of 'Hindutva,' calling it a 'disease.'
This comes after the PDP leader, reacting to a purported video of the attack on minor Muslim boys forced to chant 'Jai Shri Ram,' called Hindutva "a disease" that has "afflicted millions of Indians & sullied a God's name."
"Ram the deity must hang his head in shame & watch helplessly as minor Muslim boys are whacked with chappals only because they refuse to chant his name," she stated on Saturday.
Clarifying her stance on Sunday, Mufti drew a clear distinction between Hindutva and Hinduism, emphasising that the former is a religion promoting values of secularism, love, and compassion, similar to Islam, while criticised Hindutva as an "ideology of hate".
"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 belongs to Hindus and is for Hindus. Like Islam, Hinduism is also a religion that promotes secularism, love, and compassion. So, let's not deliberately distort it," she said.
Mufti further argued that the slogan "Jai Shri Ram" is being used as a tool to instigate hate, rather than representing the ideals of "Ramrajya."