Former chief justice of India J S Verma has said that politicians are misusing his judgment on Hinduism.

"The politicians who are practising or using Hindutva to their advantage are mis-constructing and misusing it. They have not fully appreciated the abstract of the judgment," said Verma, who was participating in Karan Thapar's 'Court Martial' programme for SABe TV to be telecast on February 6.

Asserting that there is nothing wrong in the words Hindu, Hinduism and Hindutva, provided these are not used for a particular purpose in a motivated way, Verma said he is proud to be a Hindu.

"As Vivekananda said it is something that not merely teaches tolerance, but also universal acceptance," Verma, who in his judgment had described Hinduism as a 'way of life', said.

Expressing disappointment that the Centre and the Narendra Modi government have not done enough to 'make things better' in Gujarat, Verma said a few days before his retirement as National Human Rights Commission chairman, he had written to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the issue.

He, however, refused to divulge the contents of his letter saying, "My intention is not to shame anyone, but try to see that quality of governance improves."

Asked if there were any pressures of 'dinner diplomacy', as reported in the media, from the Prime Minister's Office to tone down the NHRC's criticism of the handling of the Gujarat violence, Verma replied in the negative. "No. Never was there any pressure from anyone," he said.

However, Verma said one has to keep in mind that the matter has been taken up by the Supreme Court. "I am also anxiously waiting for the Supreme Court to pass an order. I am interacting with the lawyers appearing in the case so that the matter is listed and I hope that happens early," he said.

He also favoured constitution of a National Judicial Commission with the vice-president as its chairman.

The former NHRC chief reiterated that there is a need to amend the Protection of Human Rights Act to make the national human right's body more effective.