Kolkata, Aug 22 (IANS) Contending that nationalism cannot be forcefully injected to people, former Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union President Kanhaiya Kumar on Monday said there is a need to challenge BJP’s idea of nationalism and Hinduism in the country.

“Nationalism is neither a disease nor a medicine that can be injected to people’s body. It is a thought that emerges from the sense of association. The BJP regime is trying to destroy that sense of association among people. Therefore it is necessary to challenge their idea of nationalism,” Kanhaiya said at a public meeting organised by AISF and AIYF here.

Accusing the BJP-run central government of creating a new issue everyday to divert people’s attention from the main issues like illiteracy, unemployment and price rise, he said the government has slashed down the budget for education at various states as it is opposed to intelligence and free thinking.

“This government is scared of intelligence. They have slashed down the education budget by 93 per cent. The same thing has been done in other states too,” he claimed.

Terming the central government’s ‘Skill India’ initiative as ‘kill India’, he said the initiative has failed to deliver on the government’s promise of bringing employment.

Describing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad as the biggest enemies of the Hindu community, Kanhaiya Kumar said their idea of attacking people and trying to curb free speech in the name of protecting the Hindu religion did not reflect the Hindu ideology practised in the country.

“If their Hinduism teaches them to attack and throw ink at anyone who questions their policies and practices, then their brand of Hinduism does not reflect what the Hindus of this country have been practising for ages,” he asserted.

“They are biggest enemies of the Hindus in the country. If they were really pro Hindus, they would have protested the death of those Hindu children in Gorakhpur or would have helped the thousands of Hindu flood victims in Bengal,” he added.

–IANS
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