In yet another outburst against people with different ideology, 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.
This created huge furore as BJP came out with caustic comments. The party spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed Rahul for “insulting” Savarkar during Bharat Jodo Yatra and demanded his apology.
Rahul Gandhi, during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, “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 govt schools, colleges and hospitals are shutting, so where is the money going?” he said.
Rahul also said that Hindutva ideologue, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar used to take a pension from Britisher 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.
In reply, Sambit Patra said, “This is very shameful that Rahul Gandhi did a press conference in Maharashtra and insulted the son of the State and freedom fighter Veer Savarkar. The kind of language Rahul Gandhi used for Veer Savarkar in his Bharat Jodo Yatra is a very indecent and pathetic act. As far as Veer Savarkar is concerned, he is a freedom fighter and is very close to all of us.”
“The way Indira Gandhi glorified and praised Veer Savarkar in her letter, that is present in India’s archives today. Who was speaking the truth Indira Gandhi was speaking or Rahul Gandhi? Indira Gandhi said Veer Savarkar was the son of India and a very brave warrior who fought against the British,” he said.
Hitting out at the Gandhi family, Patra said they have always insulted great personalities. “As far as this Gandhi family is concerned, this Gandhi family thinks that only their family members are freedom fighters, they only went to jail and there is no meaning of India outside his family. Be it Subhas Chandra Bose or Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, his family has always insulted great personalities. And the result is that their leaders are leaving Congress,” he said.
