We stand for nationalism, Cong for 'tukde-tukde gang': BJP

Hitting back at the Congress after it accused the Modi government of hiding its failures behind "fanatic nationalism" in Lok Sabha polls, the BJP said Monday it has and it will stand for nationalism and alleged the opposition party was supporting "tukde-tukde" gang instead of India.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said it was "shamelessness" of the Congress that it could not introspect over its leadership and policies despite suffering a defeat, and it instead resorted to searching for "excuses".

Taking a dig at the grand old party, he said it was not the BJP's fault if no Congress chief minister or general secretary had resigned after the party's defeat in the polls.

"What is fanatic nationalism? Is carrying out surgical strikes, Balakot operation or neutralising terrorists fanatic nationalism? Is this the fanatic nationalism you are talking about? If we are promoting fanatic nationalism, then who stopped the Congress from supporting nationalism," Patra told reporters.

Rajasthan Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot had said that the 2019 election was not a defeat of the programmes, policies and ideology of the Congress.

He claimed that the BJP managed to hide its "huge failures" behind "fanatic nationalism" with the help of enormous resources and government machinery.

Targeting the Congress, Patra alleged it was ironical that whenever the Congress got a chance it stood with "tukde tukde gang".

The BJP began using the term "tukde tukde gang" to refer to students accused of raising anti-India slogans in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in 2016 and has generalised the phrase to attack those it accuses of sympathising with Maoists and separatists.

"The BJP has and will always support nationalism because India is our country and it is our duty to stand with her," he said.

Refuting Gehlot's suggestion that money power and government machinery played a role in the BJP's win, Patra said these were excuses of losers.

The BJP emerged victorious because Prime Minister Narendra Modi won people over with his development programmes and overall work, he added.

"The policy of the Congress is to demean people of India and introspection is something it has not yet learnt. This sense of entitlement of the Congress is nauseating," Patra said.