Congress targets Devendra Fadnavis, says 'dictating' against 'democracy'

Joining issue with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over his statement that anybody unwilling to utter 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' had no right to stay in India, Congress said Sunday "dictating" what others should do is against the basic tenets of "our democracy".

Countering the opposition party, BJP said it was "unfortunate" that people were "finding fault with these slogans for political reasons".

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Amidst the raging debate over nationalism, Congress leader PC Chako said, "Every individual has freedom. Dictating what others should do is against the basic tenets of our democracy. People have the freedom. People have the right. People have the discretion what to say and what not to say."

He further warned that "if the RSS and BJP are going to dictate, that will only boomerang and they should have the common sense to understand this".

At a public meeting yesterday, Maharashtra Chief Minister had said, "There is still a dispute over saying 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and those opposed to saying it, should not have any right to stay here".

Defending Fadnavis, BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said people are finding fault with these nationalist slogans for political reasons.

"This is very unfortunate. Before independence, people very proudly said 'Vande Mataram', 'Bharat mata ki jai', whether they were Hindus, Muslims, Christians. Anyone and everyone ensured that India got its independence," he said.

"But now, 70 years later, people for political reasons are finding fault with all these nationalist slogans. There is no more love for the country," he added.