'Sangh parivar' misusing Hindutva for mobilising votes: Congress

Hailing the Supreme Court's decision to decline reconsidering the 1995 order on the meaning of 'Hindutva', the Congress on Wednesday stated that the term was being abused in Indian politics, especially by the 'Sangh parivar' who were using the term for the sole purpose of mobilising votes.

Speaking to ANI here, Congress leader PC Chacko stated that Hindutva is a misused terminology because it is being used for politics and not in its real sense.

"The Sangh parivar outfits always use the term for mobilising votes only. They have no sincerity in arriving at the right meaning of the word. This is unhealthy to Indian political system, so the Supreme Court should refrain from making any comment on it," he said.

The Supreme Court had yesterday said it will not re-examine its 1995 verdict on Hindutva at this stage as it is not the reference for hearing electoral malpractice issues.

A seven-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur, said the court will not go into the larger debate as to what is Hindutva or what its meaning is and will not re-consider the 1995 judgement.

The apex court is hearing a matter related to electoral malpractices arising out of its 1995 judgement, popularly known as the 'Hindutva' verdict.

The remarks were made by the bench when some advocates sought to intervene in the ongoing hearing which commenced last Tuesday.

Last week, social activist Teesta Setalvad had sought to intervene in the matter with an application stating that religion and politics should not be mixed and a direction be passed to de-link religion from politics.

The apex court bench also comprised Justices M B Lokur, S A Bobde, A K Goel, U U Lalit, D Y Chandrachud and L Nageshwar Rao, said.

The remarks were made by the bench when, at the outset of the hearing, some advocates sought to intervene in the ongoing hearing which commenced last Tuesday.

The apex court instead took up a separate plea filed in 1990 whether seeking of votes in the name of religion will amount to a corrupt practice under the Representation of the People Act warranting disqualification.

It may be recalled that the Bombay High Court had set aside the election of Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi in the mid-1990s. The matter was then moved to Supreme Court, which in 1995 overturned the high court order saying Hindutva is a way of life.

Since then, the issue was raised in the top court many times, including in 2002 when the court referred the matter to a seven-judge bench for clarity.