Amid the raging row over chanting of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', CPI (M) today said slogans like 'Jai Hind', 'Hindustan Zindabad' and 'Inquilab Zindabad' are equally patriotic and accused the BJP of diverting attention of people from "real problems" by raking up such issues. CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury charged BJP with attempting to "convert" secular, democratic republic of India into an "RSS version" of a 'Hindu Rashtra'.


"I will say 'Jai Hind', I will say 'Hindustan Zindabad' and I will say martyr Bhagat Singh's slogan of 'Inquilab Zindabad' and I think all are equally patriotic if not more. So, is patriotism connected with only one slogan?" Yechury told reporters today.


Referring to 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' slogan, Yechury said, "This is a deliberate diversionary tactic to take attention of people from their actual day-to-day troubles and the (BJP) government wants to escape its responsibility."


"This is a deliberate move to whip up nationalism in accordance with their (BJP) ideological construct of converting our secular, democratic republic of India into their RSS version of Hindu Rashtra," he alleged.


"Bharat Mata Ki Jai - their concept of nationalism and all this fits into that ideological project and that is what is the cause for spread of intolerance and this communalisation what we have seen," he said. "Does this issue of 'Bharat mata Ki Jai' matter today?" he said.