Saffron refers to India's tradition of acceptance; BJP's saffron means dividing society: Kirti Azad

Congress leader Kirti Azad on Wednesday said that saffron's meaning is very comprehensive and it refers to the country's tradition of acceptance but for BJP it means dividing the society.

"BJP's saffron means just to break up the community into castes and religions. Saffron's meaning is very comprehensive and all-inclusive. India's tradition is that the country has accepted all the persecuted persons from around the world, whether they be Parsis or anyone else," Azad told ANI.

"What was the need for bad-mouthing Priyanka Ji? She did not harm anyone. She had just gone to meet an aggrieved family in Uttar Pradesh. I challenge Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti to a debate on the 'real' spiritual traditions of India. Then I will show her what true saffron means," he added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, in a reference to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, said, "Priyanka Gandhi cannot understand saffron because she is a fake Gandhi. She should remove Gandhi from her name and change it to Firoz Priyanka," Jyoti had said while speaking to ANI.

On Monday, Gandhi had cited India's deep-rooted connection with the saffron while cornering Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his 'revenge' remark.

"Yogi Ji wears 'Bhagwa' (saffron). It is not his personal property. Saffron belongs to this country's religious and spiritual spirit. It is a symbol of the Hindu religion. He should follow that religion. There is no place for revenge and violence in that religion," she told reporters here.

After protests against the citizenship law turned violent in Uttar Pradesh, Adityanath had said the properties of people will be confiscated who were involved in arson.

"Property of all those involved in this violence will be confiscated and damage done to public property would be recovered from them. Their faces are captured in videos and CCTV footage. We will confiscate their property and will take its revenge from them," he had said.

Gandhi demanded that there should an inquiry into the cases registered against those who were doing 'peaceful' protests.

The Congress leader alleged that the Adityanath-led government and the police have taken several steps, which do not have any 'legal' basis and have led to 'anarchy' in the state.