Rahul Gandhi sitting with protesters in JNU is disgusting: Ashok Parnami

JAIPUR: Rajasthan BJP chief Ashok Parnami today termed Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi sitting with protesters in JNU as "disgusting" and said there should be a debate on patriotism and nationalism.

"People's sentiments were hurt by the way anti-national slogans were raised by some elements which is highly deplorable. More disgusting is the participation of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi who sat with the protesters," he said.

"We welcome the government's position that there should be a debate on JNU issue related to patriotism and nationalism," the state BJP chief said on the sidelines of a programme here.

"Anti-national activities like that in JNU should not be allowed. There should be a healthy debate cutting across the party lines over this," Parnami said.

Earlier, addressing a conference titled 'Prevention and Action Against Insurgency Activities in India', Parnami said it was for the first time the BJP-led NDA government initiated cases against those allegedly involved in anti-national activities and booked them for sedition.

Speaking at the programme organised by a group of lawyers here, Rajasthan High Court Judge Manish Bhandari said each one of us should fulfil fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution.

The country cannot be divided on the lines of caste, creed and religion. Harmony and brotherhood should prevail, he said.

There is a need for change in laws, system and people's thinking, but more importantly, media should play a positive role in such matters, Justice Bhandari said.

Deputy Speaker of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Rao Rajendra Singh said there is a need to preserve original culture (sanskriti) and Indian ideology should be patriotic.

If some of the citizens are misguided, they should be brought to the mainstream, he said.