by After his sustained attacks on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar led to the Shiv Sena (UBT) threatening to withdraw from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi refrained from any mention of Hindutva at his rally in Shegaon, Buldhana district -Ideologists Friday.
Earlier in the day, Congress Chair and Speaker Jairam Ramesh called Sena MP and Saamana Editor-in-Chief Sanjay Raut for clarity.
“I had a long chat with Sanjay Raut ji and told him that Rahul Gandhi spoke his mind and the same was the case with your leadership. It (criticizing Savarkar) has nothing to do with the MVA coalition, it’s a matter of different perspectives, views and approaches, and something that is also a fact,” Ramesh later told the media.
On Thursday, during the Maharashtra leg of his Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi had presented a letter Savarkar had written to the British while he was in the Cellular Jail in Andaman, asking for clemency and saying that he was giving her would stay. obedient servant.”
Gandhi’s remarks criticizing Savarkar sparked a political controversy in Maharashtra with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the two Shiv Senas speaking unanimously to criticize him.
A new case of defamation was also opened against Gandhi, and the State Cabinet passed a formal resolution condemning him for his remarks.
But perhaps it is Uddhav Thackay who is in the most difficult situation. The Thackeray family were avowed admirers of Savarkar and his Hindutva brand, and just before Gandhi made his remarks, Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray had walked part of the way with him on the yatra.
On Thursday, Uddhav had to go back and said he could not condone Gandhi’s comments. With Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections slated for early next year, future liaison with Congress will be complicated.
Savarkar has long been a popular political figure in Maharashtra. Also last year, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar said it was difficult for the people of Maharashtra to oppose Savarkar and, not unexpectedly, even a section of Congress is reportedly unhappy with those of theirs Leader fueled controversy.
Clearly, however, Gandhi’s strategy is to expose the ideological divide in the state and get people to choose their side.
A Chairman of the State Congress said, without being quoted: “Although he (Gandhi) only quoted Savarkar’s letter, we do not know who advised him to raise the issue. Savarkar has nothing to do with ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and raising it in Maharashtra didn’t make much sense and also put Uddhav Thackeray in an awkward situation.”
“Also, if the yatra has attracted so much attention in the state, it has created an unnecessary controversy,” added the leader.
Perhaps aware of the excitement he had stirred up, Gandhi decided to confine his attacks on the Sangh parivar to the BJP in a massive show of force Friday night in Shegaon.
“Is there anyone who has benefited from this after fighting with their family? If a family does not benefit from an internal struggle, how will the country, which is also a family of thousands of people, benefit? he said. On Friday he was also accompanied for a piece by Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi.
