Maharashtra BJP chief challenges Uddhav to quit MVA alliance over Rahul Gandhi’s remark on Savarkar

After his disqualification as a member of Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, while addressing a press conference in New Delhi said “My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone.”
| Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Maharashtra unit chief Chandrashekar Bawankule on Tuesday dared Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray to quit the Maha Vikas Aghadi in protest of the alleged ‘insult’ to the Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

He said that India could never forget Savarkar’s contributions and that Mr. Thackeray was doing drama by saying that insulting the former was not acceptable.

“While Mr. Gandhi has been targeting Veer Savarkar for the last three years, he [Mr. Thackeray] was only concerned about his and his son’s Ministerial posts [when he was the Chief Minister]. If Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray was alive today, he would have not tolerated the insult of Savarkar but his son is tolerating it every day,” Mr. Bawankule said.

After his disqualification as a member of Lok Sabha, the Congress leader, while addressing a press conference in New Delhi said “My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone.”

The remark of former Wayanad MP drew fire from the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra and the NDA government at the Centre. At a rally in Nashik’s Malegaon, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Chief Minister flayed Mr. Gandhi for his remarks. “We (Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress) may have come together to save democracy and Constitution, but Savarkar is our deity and we will not tolerate any insult to him,” he said.

“You say Savarkar’s insult is unacceptable. If that is the case, then why aren’t you leaving MVA? ,” the BJP State chief asked.

His remarks come a day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis targeted Mr. Thackeray saying Balasaheb Thackeray had launched a ‘ joda mara abhiyaan’ (hitting with slippers) in 2004 against the then Union Minister and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar for his remarks against Savarkar.

They announced the ruling parties will launch a State-wide ‘ Veer Savarkar Gaurav Yatras’ in all 288 Assembly segments across the State from March 30 to April 6 to celebrate Savarkar’s contribution.

“The repeated insult of Savarkar by Mr. Gandhi is utterly condemnable. He does not have the spirit of sacrifice in him to talk of Savarkar. It is unfortunate he goes and speaks against India abroad,” Mr. Shinde said.

Meanwhile, ‘ Amhi Saare Savarkar’ (we are all Savarkar) posters emerged in Mumbai and various parts of the State. The posters were put up by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha