BENGALURU/NEW DELHI: Karnataka well being minister Dinesh Gundu Rao‘s remarks on Hindutva ideologue and freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, claiming that Savarkar consumed meat and was not against cow slaughter have sparked outrage throughout political circles.
The controversy erupted on Thursday, a day after Rao’s feedback in the course of the launch of the Kannada model of ‘Gandhi’s Murderer: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Thought of India’.
Rao’s statements drew sharp criticism from BJP and Shiv Sena functionaries, apart from household and followers of Savarkar, who considered the remarks as an assault on the Hindutva icon and his contributions to India’s freedom battle.
“Some folks mentioned he (Savarkar), being a Chitpavan Brahmin, used to eat meat. He was a non-veg eater, and he was not towards cow slaughter. He was fashionable in a means,” Rao, a Brahmin himself, mentioned, additional stating that Savarkar’s “fundamentalist ideology” stood in distinction to Indian tradition.
Rao additionally criticised Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, calling him “a hardcore Islamist believer” however distinguished between Jinnah and Savarkar.
“Jinnah was not a fundamentalist like Savarkar. He used to drink wine and, it’s mentioned, ate pork as nicely, however he turned a Muslim icon after the two-nation idea and politics. Jinnah was not a fundamentalist, however Savarkar was a fundamentalist,” Rao added.
Savarkar’s grandson Ranjit Savarkar mentioned it was Congress‘s technique to defame Savarkar, particularly when elections had been at hand. “Congress desires to divide Hindu society into totally different castes as a way to win elections. This was additionally the British coverage of ‘divide and rule’,” he mentioned, including that he would file a defamation go well with towards Rao.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi mentioned Congress ought to know that Savarkar was the one freedom fighter in India’s historical past who was sentenced to 2 life imprisonments however the opposition get together, which was used to insulting sanatan custom, had not carried out it for the primary time.
BJP MP Anurag Thakur accused Rahul Gandhi of selling a “tukde tukde” ideology, saying the Congress MP was a “fashionable Jinnah”. “India won’t tolerate the disrespect of Veer Savarkar, who devoted his life to the nation,” he mentioned.
Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Nirupam too criticised Congress for repeatedly maligning Savarkar, who’s revered in Maharashtra.
In response to the backlash, Rao issued a clarification on Thursday, saying his feedback had been primarily based on statements made by Savarkar himself.
“Savarkar, on many events, had acknowledged that he was an atheist and ate meat. I didn’t say something new,” Rao mentioned in a press release.
He clarified that his remarks weren’t private assaults on Savarkar however had been meant to attract a comparability between the existence of Mahatma Gandhi and Savarkar.
“I discussed Savarkar being non-vegetarian whereas evaluating the existence of Gandhiji, who strongly believed within the Hindu faith but remained democratic, and Savarkar, who had an ambition of constructing a Hindu nation regardless of being an atheist. Sadly, the media picked up solely the non-vegetarian half and created controversy,” he added.
