NEW DELHI: Maulana Arshad Madani, who leads one of the two factions of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, on Wednesday alleged that the “flexible policy” adopted by Congress during its tenure towards “politics of hatred based on religion caused severe damage to both the country and Constitution”.He also claimed if Congress had taken “the same strict stand against communalism 77 years ago that it claims to be taking now, it would not have been ousted from power, and the country would not have reached the brink of destruction”.In a post on X, Madani said, “Communal forces were behind assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Had communalism been crushed firmly at that very time, the country could have been saved from destruction.”He said if the “Constitution had been implemented honestly and fully along the very lines on which the foundations of free India were laid, “we would not be witnessing these days today”. “It is an unfortunate truth that from the very beginning, Congress netas perhaps out of some fear adopted a soft and flexible stance against religiously driven politics of hatred. Communal forces were treated with leniency, and strict legal action against them, as required by the Constitution and law, was avoided. As a result, communal forces were given ample opportunity to grow and strengthen,” he alleged. tnn