Don’t need to learn nationalism from BJP: Yechury’s dig at Jaitley

Equating Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s comments with US President George Bush’s ‘either you are with us or with the terrorists’ assertion, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday said they would not take lessons in nationalism from the BJP.

Equating Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s comments with former US President George Bush’s ‘either you are with us or with the terrorists’ assertion, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday said they would not take lessons in nationalism from the BJP.

Equating Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s comments with US President George Bush’s ‘either you are with us or with the terrorists’ assertion, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday said they would not take lessons in nationalism from the BJP (Sonu Mehta/ Hindustan Times)

“BJP’s contention on nationalism sounds like Bush’s infamous assertion - either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. Those supporting BJP are nationalists, those against them are anti-nationals. However, we are not going to learn nationalism from BJP,” Yechury said here.

Earlier in the day, Jaitley said “freedom of expression and nationalism do necessarily co-exist” and the Constitution gave full freedom for expressing dissent and disagreement but not the country’s destruction.

“The ideology of nationalism guides our beliefs and philosophy,” the Finance Minister had asserted.