Bengaluru, March 2 -- Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday criticised Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane over his controversial remarks describing India as a "Hindu nation" and rejecting the idea of secularism.
Rane, speaking at a Hindu conference in Nagpur, said, "This is a Hindu nation, 90 per cent Hindus live here. Pakistan and Bangladesh are Islamic nations; there is no such thing as secularism here. The first draft of the Constitution written by Babasaheb Ambedkar did not even mention anything called secular. The Congress party added the word secular later to protect itself."He further stated that in a Hindu nation, "Hindus will be considered first, then everyone else will be counted," and added that "religious equality will not ...