The Shiv Sena and the rival BJP on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Congress over a scandalous insinuation by its key frontal organisation Seva Dal about Veer Savarkar’s relationship with Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse.
The Sena said the Congress had “dirt” in their mind by questioning Savarkar’s credentials as a patriot and his reputation for valour, while the BJP described as abhorrent and perverted the comments by the Seva Dal against the Hindutva ideologue in a Hindi booklet. The BJP demanded an apology from the Congress.
BJP general secretary Anil Jain took a swipe at the Congress, saying that “the world knows various relationships of Congress leaders”, but he does not want to throw such muck.”
Nobody in the Congress suffered like Veer Savarkar, a Hindutva icon, Jain said and asked as to what low the Opposition party has fallen to in attacking him. The Congress should answer about such an abhorrent comment made about Savarkar, he said.
“Except for a family nobody is worthy of respect for the Congress,” Jain said while accusing the party of denigrating leaders like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Savarkar.
A Hindi booklet, distributed at a camp of Congress-affiliated Seva Dal in Madhya Pradesh, has claimed that Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse were in a physical relationship.
Union Minister Smriti Irani asked the Congress if it will continue to humiliate Veer Savarkar and other freedom fighters just because they were “utterly disliked” by Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress, which is part of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra, will have to answer to the Marathi people and all patriots in the country as to how long it will continue to “insult the sacrifice” of Veer Savarkar, Irani said at the Delhi BJP office after launching the party’s ‘Meri Dilli, Mera Sujhav’ campaign.
The Sena said the Congress had “dirt” in their mind by questioning Savarkar’s credentials as a patriot and his reputation for valour.
“Veer Savarkar was a great man and will remain a great man. A section keeps talking against him. This shows the dirt in their mind,” Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said, responding to the insinuations in the booklet, titled “Veer Savarkar, Kitne ‘Veer’?”
The book also alleged that Savarkar received money from the British after he was released from Andaman’s Cellular Jail.
Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil said the Congress should apologise for the “perverted” content in the booklet. “The booklet contains lies and perverted content. The Congress should tender an apology for the same,” Patil said. “Savarkar was acquitted by the court in the Gandhi assassination case. Despite this, the Congress-affiliated organisation is trying to link him and the accused in the case,” he said.