“B R Ambedkar and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar are not against each other,“ said BJP MP Tejasvi Surya at the launch of the book Hindutva: Origin, Evolution and Future by Aravindan Neelakandan, in Delhi.

In a discussion with Tamil Nadu BJP president and former IPS officer K Annamalai, JNU Professor and author Makarand Paranjape, BJYM VP Abhinav Prakash, Surya drew similarities between Ambedkar and Savarkar saying both opposed birth-based discrimination, and favoured industrialisation for building a modern Hindu society.

When asked about the 'Ambedkar vs Savarkar debate', Surya said, "It is Ambedkar and Savarkar, not Ambedkar vs Savarkar".

"If you try to understand the communist philosophy, it tries to pitch one versus another, it is capitalist vs labour, man vs wife... They keep conflict alive," he said.

"The very definition of the word Hindu where Savarkar defines Hindu to include everyone except those practising Abrahamic religions was backed by Ambedkar," claimed Surya.

On caste system, Surya said, both Savarkar and Ambedkar were "on the same page that birth-based discrimination is not right".

"On the economic front, both Savarkar and Ambedkar were in favour of industrialisation. They saw it as a tool to bring modernity in the Hindu society," he said, stressing that both Savarkar and Ambedkar can be celebrated together.

Speaking at the event, Paranjape called for shifting from "negative Ambedkarism" to "positive Ambedkarism". He said the "negative Ambedkarism" is resulting in "martialisation of Indian Dalits", which is "anti-India".

With inputs from PTI