MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena mouthpiece , Saamna , on Monday stated that India belonged to Hindus first and others later.

The newspaper's editorial said that while a pro-Hindutva regime was ruling the nation, issues like the Ayodhya temple and resettlement of displaced Kashmiri Pandits remained unresolved.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had on Friday said that Hindustan is a country of Hindus, but it does not mean that it does not belong to others. "India belongs to Hindus first and others later, because there are more than 50 countries for Muslims," the newsdaily wrote. "Christians have countries like America. Buddhists have China, Japan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. Hindus do not have any country except this," the editorial said.

The Sena has been involved in a game of one-upmanship with its alliance partner, the BJP. It is eager to burnish its "pro-Hindu" credentials.

"Today there is a pro-Hindutva majority government in power. Yet, it is unwilling to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya and has left the court's hands," it said.

"The 'ghar wapsi' of Kashmiri Pandits hasn't taken place despite the BJP ruling at the Centre and running the J&K government in an alliance," said the newspaper.

It added that a "stubborn attitude" prevails towards singing 'Vande Mataram'.

