Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani on Tuesday started the second leg of his Bharat Uday Yatra from Porbandar, Gujarat, saying India's secularism came from its faith in 'Hindutva'.

"The roots of India's secularism lie in Hindutva, which has not allowed the country to become a theocratic state," he told a rally.

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Addressing the rally after visiting Kirti Mandir, Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace, Advani said, "Even as Pakistan became an Islamic state after the Partition in 1947, we did not allow any discrimination on the basis of religion. And it is due to our faith in Hindutva.

"People say BJP workers are proud to be Hindu, Mahatma Gandhi was also proud to be a Hindu. Swami Vivekananda and his guru Ramkrishna Paramhans also thought similarly. However, they not only preached secularism in principle, but also practised it."