Ranchi: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today (Nov 26, 2004) said that Hindutva and 'Bhartiyata' (Indianness) were one and the same and the disappointment that had enveloped the party after the Lok Sabha polls was now over.

Addressing the concluding session of the BJP's National Executive meet in Ranchi, he said that it was the media that was differentiating between Bhartiyata and Hindutva.

"There is no contradiction between Hindutva and Bartiyata, the issue is to preserve the ethos and take it forward."