Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 18: The Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the social activist and great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Tushar Gandhi joined the Veer Savarkar row on Friday, one attacking the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the other coming to his defence.
Fadnavis posted a long thread on Twitter attacking Rahul and posted a letter of the former prime minister Indira Gandhi calling Savarkar “a remarkable son of India.” In contrast, Tushar Gandhi commented that what Rahul Gandhi said about Savarkar to be an agent of the British government was correct having “evidence in history” and that he had apologised to the British to move out of the prison.
Fadnavis attacking the Congress leader over the ongoing Savarkar row triggered by Rahul Gandhi’s comments on the Hindutva ideologue, dragged Indira Gandhi to the debate. Fadnavis posted a 1980 letter written by the former PM and said, “Just read what former prime minister of India Mrs Indira Gandhi (your grandmother) said about Savarkarji. Here she called Veer Savarkar ji the pillar of the freedom movement and the remarkable son of India.”
Fadnavis also shared a letter written by Mahatma Gandhi and asked him to read the last lines of the letter as it has the same closing as the Savarkar’s letter that Rahul Gandhi waved at a press meet on Thursday and said Savarkar helped the British. “I have a document that comprises Savarkar’s letter to the British in which he has stated, ‘I beg to remain sir your most obedient servant’. This is not written by me but by Savarkar ji. Let everyone read this document,” Rahul Gandhi said. “I am clearly of the view that he helped the British,” Rahul Gandhi added.
“Rahul ji, yesterday you asked me to read the last lines of a letter. Now let me read some documents to you today. Have you read this letter from our respected Mahatma Gandhi? Does it have the same last lines you wanted me to read?” Fadnavis tweeted. In his attack on Rahul Gandhi, Fadnavis also shared statements of NCP leader Sharad Pawar, former PM PV Narasimha Rao and other Congress leaders of Maharashtra praising Savarkar.
During the current Maharashtra leg of his “Bharat Jodo Yatra,” Rahul Gandhi had reiterated his views on Savarkar and how he sought mercy from the British. He had also mentioned Savarkar in reference to Birsa Munda and said the difference between Savarkar and Birsa Munda was that Birsa Munda died fighting against the British when he was 24 and Savarkar took a pension from the British.
On Thursday, he reiterated the issue and showed the letter written by Savarkar to the British in which he used the word ‘servant’. Rahul Gandhi’s comment did not go down well with the Shiv Sena — both the Uddhab Balasaheb Thackeray faction and the Eknath Shinde faction.
While a Sena worker from the Shinde faction filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi, Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said he did not approve of Rahul Gandhi’s comment on Savarkar. Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday condemned Rahul Gandhi’s comments and said even Maharashtra Congress leaders will not subscribe to Rahul Gandhi’s opinion on Savarkar. He also hinted at severing ties with the Congress, an alliance partner of the Sena in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) which ruled over Maharashtra till a rebellion by the Shinde faction overthrew it. The Congress leader, however, maintained that there was no threat to the MVA.
Author and activist Tushar Gandhi who on Friday joined Rahul’s Yatra and walked side by side with him, spoke of ‘evidence in history’ and said ‘… it is true Veer Savarkar was friends with the Britishers and that he apologised to the Britishers to move out of prison’. “It is not like we have taken it from WhatsApp university,” he said.
The Congress tweeted an image of the two walking side-by-side and compared it to a similar image from the pages of history – of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi. “It is not possible (that) when the country is in trouble… Gandhi-Nehru do not come out shoulder-to-shoulder. The journey from the freedom movement to the movement to unite India is a witness… We gave freedom to the country then and will unite the country today.”
Yatras have given birth to several revolutions over the years,” Tushar Gandhi said. “… when the country is against the construct that was set by our forefathers, it becomes important for people to realise that we have not given up,” he added.
