RSS taunts BJP to abandon Hindutva ideology, "Never," says Rajnath

Ironically, earlier, RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi had defended Gandhi's remarks, and the Sangh journal too had written editorials backing him. But now, it seems that RSS prefers to distance itself from Gandhi's remarks as it had cost them many seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Vaidya's diatribe comes barely a week after some senior BJP leaders questioned the relevance of Hindutva in the political party and criticized that the party's virulent anti-minority rhetoric and hardline Hindutva stance during poll campaign not only gave away its communal game but also succeeded in distancing the minority communities and annoying the Hindu voters who embody secular India.

A week back, senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh, who has been elected from Darjeeling, said there was no clarity in the party on what Hindutva means and added that self-interest of those who make up for the so-called central leadership tops the party's agenda.

According to Singh, the party lacked clarity and failed to connect to the electorate and to succeed in the future, the party must reinvent itself as people are losing faith in the organization. "There is a need for ideological distillation of thought. BJP has to be a current party. It can't be a party of yesterday. I think there's lack of clarity on what Hindutva means. Perhaps we didn't succeed effectively in conveying what we were trying to do. Failure in conveying (our) message...ended up with diminished electoral support," Singh said.

BJP's prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, despite inserting Hindutva ideology in the party's election manifesto, had also toned it down during election campaigns.

Advani's key aide and political adviser Sudheendra Kulkarni had also criticized the Sangh Parivar (Hindu organizations) for making a "strong leader like Advani, whose contribution to the growth of the party is enormous, look weak, helpless and not fully in command" during the election campaign.