RSS trying to pass their bigoted ideology as 'nationalism': Congress

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday hit out at the RSS and its affiliated groups for trying to "camouflage their bigoted ideology as nationalism".

"The RSS is now trying to project its bigoted ideology and it is camouflaging this bigoted ideology as 'nationalism'... trying to pass off their fake view of India as 'nationalism' and they are doing it through repression and coercion," said senior Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

"The Indian National Congress is deeply concerned that outfits like RSS, Sangh Parivar and ABVP are trying to fit their square ideology into the circular democratic tradition of this country. In other words, they are trying to achieve a misfit," he added.

Singhvi said his party was "in the first line of condemnation of anti-national activities".

"We are not here to give justifications, defences and certificates... we stand rock solid on issues of 'nationalism' but we also stand equally rock solid against the bogey of 'nationalism' and when that bogey is used to repress students to carry on campaigns to infiltrate the RSS and ABVP ideology into our institutions, we will rise and speak up because we think it is utterly unacceptable to the idea of India," he added.