Cong insults nationalists, sees messengers of peace in terrorists: BJP

New Delhi, Dec 29 (PTI) The BJP on Monday slammed the Congress over its leader Manickam Tagore's remarks against the RSS, alleging that the main opposition party sees terrorists in patriots and messengers of peace in terrorists.

This comes a day after Tagore equated the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP's ideological fountainhead, with the banned terror outfit Al-Qaeda and said there is no comparison between the Congress and them.

Reacting sharply to Tagore's remarks, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the Congress leader's comments reflected the mindset of his party.

"They see terrorists in nationalists and shantidoot (messengers of peace) in real terrorists such as Afzal Guru and Yakub Memon. The Congress insults nationalists, and calls terrorists such as the naxals and members of the PFI and SIMI their 'bhaijaan' (brothers). This is the only thing they do," Poonawalla told PTI.

The BJP spokesperson said the RSS is a nationalist organisation that has been contributing to nation-building through 'vyaktitva nirman' and 'charitra nirman' (character building of individuals) for the last 100 years.

However, the Congress has been running a "campaign of calumny and insinuation" against the RSS for the last 100 years, he said.

"Manikam Tagore and the Congress should say whether Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his government had invited the RSS to participate in the Republic Day programme because it was a terrorist organisation," Poonawalla said.

"The Congress should also say whether former President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to the RSS headquarters was a visit to the headquarters of a terrorist organisation. Whether Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and Jai Prakash Narayan lauded a terrorist organisation when they praised the RSS," he further said. PTI PK PK RUK RUK