Never said Hindutva an opportunistic issue for BJP: Arun Jaitley

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley, caught on the wrong-foot over his purported Hindutva remarks in a leaked WikiLeaks cable, on Monday denied having said that Hindutva was an ?opportunistic issue? for the BJP.

He maintained that he had never used any such phrase and it could have been the US diplomat?s own interpretation.

?Any comment or phrase used by the US diplomat inconsistent with the party?s (BJP?s) views is his own, and cannot be ascribed to me,? Jaitley said here.

A WikiLeaks cable, dated May 6, 2005, sent by Robert Blake, the Charge at the US Embassy, had quoted Jaitley as stating that the Hindutva issue, the main poll plank of BJP in many heartland states, is an ?opportunistic issue? for the saffron party.

Jaitley, however, confirmed that the other comments ascribed to him in the leaked cable pertaining to his protest against denial of US visa to Narendra Modi and his strong position against terrorism and infiltration reflect his as well as BJP?s opinion.

Responding to Congress? criticism over the leaked cable, Jaitley said the ruling party should have responded as seriously when cash-for-vote charges were levied against it based on similar WikiLeaks cable.

He said, ?Now they (the Congress) are taking WikiLeaks so seriously. They should have taken it as seriously when the cash-for-vote charges were made.?

?Had they taken WikiLeaks as seriously then, the Congress would have a lot of explanation to do,? he added.