Sushma Swaraj defends dancing at Rajghat

In the eye of criticism over dancing with her party colleagues at Rajghat, Sushma Swaraj Tuesday tweeted that they are nationalists and will therefore sing and dance to the song of nationalism.

"We will sing the song of nationalism and dance because we are nationalists. The people who dislike it are suffering from mental slavery," Swaraj, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha tweeted.

Swaraj had danced with her Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) colleagues at the 24-hour-long protest at the Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi's memorial, Sunday. This sparked a controversy as the Congress party accused her of hurting the sanctity of the place.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari commented: "At the samadhi (memorial) of the father of the nation, if you are going to dance, what kind of sanctity of the place are you maintaining?".

Congress general secretary BK Hariprasad said: "By dancing at the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj has not only insulted Gandhiji but all the freedom fighters and the entire countrymen".

"They should be ashamed. They should seek apology of the people," party general secretary Digvijay Singh said in Lucknow.