A group of religious leaders met Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh general secretary Mohan Bhagwat at the organisation's headquarters in Nagpur on Thursday.

The team included reformist leader Asghar Ali Engineer, Abdul Haq Ansari of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, John Cherudulai of India Peace Centre and Shamsuddin, retired judge of the Kerala [Images] high court.

The leaders later told newsmen that several issues were raised during their meeting with Bhagwat. However, no discussion could be held since the time was short, the leaders said.

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The leaders asked Bhagwat as to why the RSS spoke about Hindutva and not Bharatiyatva. Bhagwat said that for the RSS, Hindutva and Bharatiyatva were synonymous, the leaders told newsmen.

The leaders are among the delegates now in the city for a three-day conference on 'On beyond dialogue'. They called up Bhagwat on Thursday afternoon and expressed their wish to visit the RSS headquarters. Bhagwat immediately invited them over for a meeting.

The conference is being hosted by the National Council for Churches in India and commenced on Wednesday.

Central India News Service