Like Advani, Nitin Gadkari says oppositions' views must be respected

"We should respect different opinions because this is the real, true spirit of democracy," the Union Minister told NDTV on Thursday.

Nitin Gadkari was asked to comment on Advani's blog recently titled "Nation First, Party Next, Self Last", where the senior leader wrote: "Defense of democracy and democratic traditions, both within the Party and in the larger national setting, has been the proud hallmark of the BJP."

"The essence of Indian democracy is respect for diversity and freedom of expression. Right from its inception, the BJP has never regarded those who disagree with us politically as our 'enemies', but only as our adversaries," Advani had written.

Reacting to the comment, Nitin Gadkari said: "We do not want to call anybody who is not with us anti-national. It is his right to express and we do not have any problem about it because we always say that there are differences of opinion in a democracy."

The comment gained momentum especially since Gadkari has been speculated in media as a challenger to Narendra Modi for the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.