Rahul walks into controversy by raking up Savarkar issue
We won’t tolerate insult to freedom fighter: CM Shinde; I don’t approve of Rahul’s remarks: Uddhav
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday raked up Veer Savarkar again and alleged that he betrayed leaders like M.K Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel by signing a letter of apology to the British before independence.
Addressing the media during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul said: “Veer Savarkar, in a letter written to the British, said ‘Sir, I beg to remain your most obedient servant' and signed on it. Savarkar helped the British. He betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel by signing the letter out of fear.”
Hitting out at the BJP, the Congress leader said that the youth are not being given the assurance of getting jobs. “I see two big problems — youths don't have the assurance of getting jobs and farmers don't get support from anywhere. The third is interlinked — people are paying for education and health as government schools, colleges and hospitals are shutting, so where is the money going?" he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Rahul attended Tribal Convention during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Hingoli on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas. He said that Hindutva ideologue, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar used to take a pension from British and worked against Congress.
“In Andaman jail, Savarkar wrote a letter and told the British to forgive him and release him from jail. Veer Savarkar took a pension from the British, he worked against Congress. After coming out of jail he accepted the British proposal and joined their force. The difference between Savarkar and Birsa Munda is, he fought against the British when he was 24 years old," he said.
Following this, Ranjit Savarkar, the grandson of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, had said that he would file a complaint at Shivaji Park Police Station in Mumbai against Congress leader Rahul for "insulting" Veer Savarkar.
Ranjit said: “It is not the first time Rahul and Congress have insulted Savarkar. In the past too, they have insulted Savarkar, so I have decided
to file a complaint against Rahul at Shivaji Park police station. I will file a complaint for insulting our leader. Rahul is a serial offender in this regard. In the past in 2017 also he did the same thing.” Ranjit added: “Congress is trying to play vote bank politics and uses the same agenda of insulting Veer Savarkar,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, targeting Rahul for his comments on freedom fighter V D Savarkar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said the people of the state will not tolerate any insult directed at the Hindutva ideologue.
Speaking at a symposium on Hindutva held at Savarkar Memorial in Mumbai, Shinde, in an apparent reference to his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, said while the freedom fighter, a revered figure in Maharashtra, was insulted, there were those who took a soft stand on the issue.
Uddhav Thackeray, who heads a faction of the Shiv Sena, on Thursday said his party has immense respect for V D Savarkar and he does not approve of Rahul's remarks on the freedom fighter. — ani, pti