Maharashtra Congress state president Harshvardhan Sapkal, along with other party leaders, criticised a statement made by an Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader from Nashik, Bala Darade, that Rahul Gandhi’s face would be blackened for “insulting” the late Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, when Rahul visits Nashik.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event organized to mark Savarkar’s birth anniversary on Wednesday, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s Nashik city unit chief said, “Rahul Gandhi used abusive language against Savarkar, and a case was filed against him in Nashik. We will not tolerate Savarkar’s insult. Rahul Gandhi will soon need to visit Nashik to appear before the court in this case. When he comes, we will blacken Rahul Gandhi’s face. If we can’t reach there, we will throw stones at him.”
“We are very proud that we live in the birthplace of Savarkar. We express our protest against Rahul Gandhi for using some abusive words against Savarkar. Our party chief, Uddhav Thackeray, and Thackeray group leader Sanjay Raut have reprimanded Rahul Gandhi in their style. If he uses abusive words about Savarkar, we will teach him a lesson even though we are in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA),” Bala Darade added.
However, party’s spokesperson Sushma Andhare distanced her party from Darade’s statement against Rahul Gandhi and told media persons that his views were his personal at best and is not the official stand of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.
However, Maharashtra Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal said Congress would not tolerate such language for their leader. “Rahul Gandhi never used any abusive words against Savarkar but only quoted some historic facts. Whatever historical references and evidence already exist about Savarkar, Rahul Gandhi has merely done the work of presenting them in front of everyone. Therefore, if someone issues such threats, then it is unfortunate. We will not tolerate such threats to Rahul Gandhi,” Sapkal warned.
Congress party’s Maharashtra state unit official spokesperson Atul Londhe said that Darade’s remarks are part of a conspiracy engineered by the BJP and expressed the hope that Uddhav Thackeray would act against Bala Darade, who has attacked a Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance leader.
Another Congress leader, Yashomati Thakur, said, “This politics is going on only because of the approaching municipal elections. No one will tolerate anybody using such words against Rahul Gandhi”.
Earlier on May 9, a court in Pune, asked Leader of the Opposition and Congress Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi to appear before it to enable the recording of his plea in a case of criminal defamation filed against him due to his remarks regarding the late Hindu Mahasabha leader and Hindutva ideologue, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
The case proceedings are related to a complaint filed by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s grand nephew Satyaki Savarkar alleging that Rahul Gandhi made defamatory comments about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar during a speech in London, in March 2023.
Allegedly, Rahul Gandhi referred to a passage in Savarkar’s writings which described an incident in which a group, including Savarkar, assaulted a Muslim, which Gandhi claimed was described by Savarkar as “pleasurable”.
“They (Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and his friends) beat up a Muslim and felt happy. If five people beat up one person and someone is getting happy, then this is cowardice. Fifteen people with Savarkar beat up one person. This is also their ideology,” Rahul Gandhi had allegedly stated.
On Friday, the Supreme Court pulled up Rahul Gandhi in connection with another case filed against him in Uttar Pradesh about remarks made about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The apex court too had taken strong exception to Rahul Gandhi’s statement that Vinayak Damodar Savarkar collaborated with the British, and had received pension from the British.
Rahul Gandhi also faces charges before a Lucknow magistrate court’s under Sections 153A (for promoting enmity) and Section 505 (public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for his remarks against Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Later, he moved the top court to quash the summons issued to him by the Lucknow magistrate’s court. Staying the summons issued to him, the Supreme Court said his statements against Vinayak Savarkar were “irresponsible” and that the court would initiate suo moto action if he made similar statements again.
The apex court had warned Rahul Gandhi not to make controversial remarks against freedom fighters in future, or else he will have to “face the consequences”.