Bengaluru, Aug 26 : Criticising Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar for apologising over singing the RSS anthem, the BJP, on Tuesday, chided that if not for the motherland, should Indians hail the lady from Italy (indirectly referring to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi).

Responding to Shivakumar's apology over singing the RSS anthem, the Leader of the Opposition and BJP leader R. Ashoka said, "If Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar has to apologise for bowing to Mother India by reciting the RSS anthem 'Namaste Sada Vatsale Matrubhume' (Salutations to you, O ever-loving motherland) then according to the Congress, whom should Indians hail? The Mother of Italy? Or the lady who has come from Italy?"

"This is the essence of the first line of the RSS prayer song: 'Salutations to Mother India, who nurtures us all with affection like a mother'. Is it wrong to have this sentiment towards the motherland that gave us birth? Is it wrong to bow to one's motherland?" BJP leader Ashoka asked.

He also criticised the Congress-led state government, saying: "On the one hand, the Congress party defends those who shouted 'Pakistan Zindabad' inside the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, and on the other hand, it places those who bow before Mother India in the position of an offender. Can this be called anything other than an anti-national mindset?"

"After all, who ordered D.K. Shivakumar to apologise? Was it Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, K.C. Venugopal or Randeep Surjewala? Or did he apologise because B.K. Hariprasad demanded it?" BJP leader Ashoka asked.

"If Deputy CM Shivakumar had even a little bit of self-respect or courage, he should not have apologised. If there was such immense pressure to apologise, then without hesitation he should have resigned from the Congress party membership. There is a saying: 'He who loves not his country can love nothing,'" he said.

"But in the Congress party, the situation is such that if one has love for the chair, one must give up patriotism. It is the great misfortune of our land today that so-called leaders, who abandon their motherland for the greed of power, are aspiring to become Chief Ministers of the state," BJP leader Ashoka added.

Following criticism after singing the RSS anthem in the state Assembly and speculation about his proximity to the BJP, Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar clarified on Tuesday that he would "die as a Congressman" and reaffirmed that his loyalty to the Gandhi family was akin to that of a devotee to god.

He also apologised for singing the RSS anthem in the Assembly.

Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar said, "During the discussion on the stampede tragedy in the recently concluded Monsoon Assembly session, I sang a few lines of the RSS anthem to pull the leg of the Leader of the Opposition, R. Ashoka. That was my only intention. I did not mean it otherwise, nor was it to praise them."

"Anyone who wants to know about my history, commitment, and ideology is welcome. If they want to do politics, let them. But if any of my party colleagues or friends across political lines in the INDIA bloc have been hurt, I sincerely apologise to them," he added.

/IANS