Congress May Win 150-Plus Madhya Pradesh Seats: Digvijaya Singh's Claim

"Soft-Hindutva" means nothing and Hindutva has "nothing to do with religion", senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh told NDTV while responding to a question on whether the Congress is playing to the Hindu majority for political advantage.

"Hindutva has nothing to do with religion, so there is no meaning of soft-hard Hindutva," the Rajya Sabha MP told NDTV in an interview on the Congress's preparations for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls and its expectations.

"There should be no place of religion in politics, it is a question of religious faith, every person has the right to follow his religion. Seeking votes in the name of religion is a legal offence," he said.

Mr Singh said it was BJP ideologue and freedom fighter VD Savarkar who coined the term "Hindutva". "He has said there is no connection between Hindutva and Hindu and Sanatan Dharma. This country belongs to everyone," the Congress leader said.

On a question on whether the Congress plans to ban right-wing outfit and RSS arm Bajrang Dal if it comes to power. "The power to ban any organisation lies with the central government. There will be no need to do that, we will respect the good people in Bajrang Dal. But those who speak provocative speeches and engage in vandalism and violence will be dealt with strictly," he said.

Earlier, the Congress's promise to ban Bajrang Dal in its Karnataka manifesto had sparked a row, with the BJP daring its rival to follow up on its promise.

Mr Singh said the Congress is hopeful of a good show in the Assembly polls due later this year. "Our preparation is about 1.5 times better than it was in 2018," he said, adding that he won't be surprised if the party gets more than 150 seats in the 230-member assembly.

In 2018, the Congress won 114 seats and the BJP finished a close second with 109. While Kamal Nath formed the government, a rebellion by 22 Congress legislators topped it and brought the BJP back into power.

Asked about the Congress's prepations on 66-odd seats that are considered BJP strongholds, Mr Singh said, "We are hopeful that we will get good results. People are disappointed with the BJP because Chief Minister (Shivraj Singh Chouhan) failed to fulfill promises. The results will come in our favour."

The Congress leader, however, accepted that the Congress's organisation is weak in some areas, but stressed that the party's prospects are better than in 2018.

"No one can defeat the Congress party if we remain disciplined and loyal. I accept that our organisation is weak but we are stronger than 2018. We have worked on our mistakes. This time we will get better results," he said.

Mr Singh said an early decision on candidates can play a critical role in its poll show. "I have always been saying that our candidates should be decided soon. Otherwise we will lose time in firefighting," he said.

Accusing the BJP government of corruption, he said, "It is on record. Thousands of crores were collected for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya during the 1992 yatra. Till this date, no report as come out. There was corruption in Kumbh Mela, corruption in the construction of Mahakal corridor, If you ask me, the Chief Minister of Karnataka was Mr. 40%, he (Chouhan) is Mr. 50%."

Commenting on the BJP's poll preparations, Mr Singh claimed that Union Ministers Bhupendra Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnav were calling the shots and Mr Chouhan was unaware of key decisions.