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Nagpur, Jul 4 (PTI): Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said the ideas of Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee were still relevant, and the BJP must move forward with them.

The BJP was not against any community, he said, adding that India should be made 'Vishwaguru' by binding the people of all regligions with national ideals. It is not a Hindu-only India but it belongs to all Indians, he said.

Speaking at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee lecture series here, Gadkari also alleged that Congress and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru adopted the policy of appeasement, and blamed the grand old party for spreading misconceptions about the Jana Sangh, the BJP's predecessor.

"Two countries, India and Pakistan, were created. You all know their history after creation. And we are still suffering its consequences," the BJP leader said, referring to Partition.

"Even today, our (BJP's) defining (ideological) feature is that the nation is supreme; nationalism is our collective faith, devotion and inspiration. Devotion to the nation was also the hallmark of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee's life. But the policy adopted by Congress and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was appeasement," he said.

For its votebank politics, Congress embraced appeasement in the name of secularism, the Union minister alleged.

It sowed divisions among religions and led to casteism and communalism, said Gadkari.

"But what we say is that we are all one...in our country someone will go to a mosque, someone to a Buddha Vihar, someone to a gurudwara, and we are all one. We are Indians, our culture, history, and heritage are one. Our modes of worship and prayer are different. And we accept that our Constitution has granted rights to everyone," said Gadkari.

The BJP is not against any community, he stressed.

Congress misinterprted the concepts of Bhartiyatva, Hindutva and nationalism, and repeatedly branded the Jana Sangh as a caste-based or communal party, he claimed.

"The BJP is not against any community, the BJP wants to work by taking along all communities, all religions, and all castes. Therefore, the BJP states in its philosophy that this nation belongs equally to the people of every caste, sect, and religion....Everyone should have equal rights," he said.

Good governance and development are the party's mission, he added.

The values of Dr Mukherjee, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee are the BJP's legacy and capital, the Union minister said. PTI CLS KRK

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)