After coming under fire from BJP, the new Congress ally- Shiv Sena in Maharashtra showed disapproval for Rahul Gandhi’s “My name is not Rahul Savarkar” remark and party leader Sanjay Raut said that the Hindutva icon should not be insulted.

In a vehement reaction to BJP’s demand for an apology on his “Rape in India” remark, Rahul Gandhi reiterated that he will not apologise.

While lashing out at the ruling government at the mega ‘Bharat Bachao’ rally in Delhi on Saturday, he said, “I was told to apologise for something which is right. My name is not Rahul Savarkar. My name is Rahul Gandhi. I will never apologise for truth.”

The BJP too hit back at Rahul Gandhi, saying a “more appropriate” name for the Congress leader is “Rahul Jinnah” as his “Muslim appeasement” politics makes him a worthy legatee of the Pakistan’s founder.

Their reaction came after Rahul Gandhi mocked V D Savarkar while addressing a Congress rally in Delhi.

“The BJP asked me to apologise. My name is not Rahul Savarkar, it is Rahul Gandhi, and I will never apologise for speaking the truth.”

“I will die, but I will not apologise for speaking the truth and nor will any Congressman do so. It is Narendra Modi and his assistant Amit Shah who have to apologise to the country for destroying India’s economy,” he asserted.

The BJP had demanded that Rahul Gandhi apologise after the Congress leader, while attacking the Modi Government over the issue of crimes against women, had said at an election rally in Jharkhand that instead of ‘Make in India’, it was nowadays “rape in India” in the country.

Sanjay Raut, leader of Shiv Sena which recently left the BJP-led NDA and joined hands with the Congress in Maharashtra, tweeted that Savarkar should be respected as he dedicated his life to the country like Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi and there “is no compromise on this”.

“Veer Savarkar is a god (“daivat”) of the whole country and not just Maharashtra. The name Savarkar denotes national pride and self-respect. Like Nehru and Gandhi, Savarkar too dedicated his life to the country. Every such god must be revered. There is no compromise on this,” Raut wrote in Marathi on Twitter.

विर सावरकर हे महाराष्ट्राचेच नव्हे तर देशाचे दैवत आहे.
सावरकर नावात राष्ट्राभिमान आणि स्वाभिमान आहे. नेहरू ,गांधी यांच्या प्रमाणेच सावरकर यांनी स्वातंत्र्यासाठी जीवनाचा होम केला. अशा प्रत्येक दैवताचा सन्मान करायला हवा.इथे तडजोड नाहीत.
जय हिंद

— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) December 14, 2019

“We respect Gandhi and Nehru. You should not insult Savarkar. Enough said,” he tweeted further.

Targeting Gandhi, BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said, “The more appropriate name for you Rahul Gandhi is Rahul Jinnah. Your Muslim appeasement politics and mindset makes you a worthy legatee of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, not Savarkar.”

Another party spokesperson Sambit Patra said Rahul Gandhi can never be ‘Rahul Savarkar’ as Savarkar stood for “patriotism, bravery and sacrifice”, while the Congress leader is somebody who spoke in Pakistan’s language on issues like the citizenship bill, Article 370 and surgical strikes.

Amit Malviya, the BJP IT cell head, tweeted that the former Congress president was right that he can never be Rahul Savarkar.

“For once Rahul Gandhi is right. He can never be ‘Rahul Savarkar’. Veer Savarkar is a national icon, who has had a civilisational impact on India’s polity and will continue to be revered for generations to come. 5 generation of Nehru-Gandhi family can’t measure up to his legacy,” he said.

Veer Savarkar is accused by his critics of tendering apology to the British government to secure release from jail when India was under the colonial rule.

Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday, while addressing an election rally in Jharkhand took a jibe on the Prime Minister’s pet project ‘Make in India’ and said, “Earlier it was ‘make in India’, but now it is rape in India”.

Taking on the remarks, Union Minister Smriti Irani lashed out at Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha saying that “this is the first time in history that a leader is giving a clarion call that Indian women should be raped”.

“Is this Rahul Gandhi’s message to the people of the country?” she questioned.

“Rahul Gandhi should be punished for mocking his political opponent and calling ‘Come, rape in India’,” she said.

(With PTI inputs)