The Maha Vikas Aghadi had its plate full on Monday, with a crisis having been served, emanating from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s sarcasm against Veer Savarkar.
Last Saturday, at a press conference in New Delhi after his disqualification from the Lok Sabha following a two-year sentence handed down by a Surat court, he had categorically stated that he would not apologise to Prime Minister Narendra Modi (for his defamatory remarks) and for good measure, he had added, “I am not a Savarkar...I am Gandhi.”
The reference was to the apology which Savarkar had offered to the British. BJP supporters said Savarkar’s statement was being deliberately taken out of context by the Congress and a great patriot was sought to be demonised just because he propounded the ideology of Hindutva.
Uddhav Thackeray slams Rahul Gandhi on Savarkar remark
Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena (UBT), an important component of the MVA, took strong objection to Gandhi’s remark. Uddhav Thackeray said, “Savarkar was God to us”, adding that his party would not tolerate any adverse remark against the late leader. The party, therefore, decided to boycott a dinner hosted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi on Monday.
BJP MLA Amit Satam, accused Uddhav of hypocrisy. “On the one hand, Uddhav swears by Savarkar and on the other, he is in alliance with those who ridicule the veteran freedom fighter. I challenge Uddhav to pull out of the MVA and prove his commitment to Savarkar.” Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis also slammed Uddhav Thackeray and Rahul Gandhi. Shinde challenged Rahul Gandhi to spend at least one day in the cell in the Andamans, where Savarkar was incarcerated.
Nana Patole defended Rahul Gandhi's remark
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nana Patole defended Gandhi and said his party was firmly committed to secularism and could never accept the allegedly divisive politics of Savarkar. “In any case, the priority now is to form a united opposition to the dictatorial BJP regime,” he added. MPCC spokesperson Sachin Sawant told the FPJ on Monday that “when the MVA coalition was formed, it was on the basis of a common minimum programme and Savarkar was certainly not on the agenda.
“When we joined hands with Uddhav Thackeray, we were very well aware of his commitment to Savarkar and the ideology of Hindutva. Yet, we joined hands with him because the goal was to form a broad coalition against the BJP. The demand for such a coalition still exists.” But with Uddhav openly hinting at a rift in the MVA, other partners are feeling the jitters.
CM Eknath Shinde announces ‘Savarkar Gaurav Yatras’ in state
In a bid to up the ante, CM Eknath Shinde, who heads the officially recognised Shiv Sena, and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP, on Monday jointly announced that ‘Savarkar Gaurav Yatras’ would be conducted in all districts, focussing attention on the greatness of Savarkar and the sacrifices he had made for the nation. Both leaders condemned Gandhi for his repeated criticism of Savarkar. There is also a possibility that an FIR may be registered against the Congress leader.
“Gandhi had made a statement against the country’s democracy and maligned the image of country at an international forum. It is an act of treason,” Shinde claimed. He also came down heavily on Uddhav for his contradictory stand of supporting Savarkar and at the same time, being allied with the Congress.
