Published 10:50 IST, December 23rd 2019
Sanjay Nirupam slams Sena over Saamana column, alleges insult to Mahatma Gandhi & Nehru
Congress' Sanjay Nirupam slammed the Shiv Sena for insulting freedom fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, and Sardar Patel.
- India News
- 3 min read
On Monday, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam slammed the Shiv Sena for insulting freedom fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose. Contending that the Sena was entitled to argue in favour of Veer Savarkar, he took exception at an article in the December 22 Saamana edition. He claimed that the article cast aspersions on the contribution of Congress in the freedom struggle. Describing this as a dangerous trend, Nirupam condemned this attempt by the Shiv Sena. Currently, Congress is a constituent of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.
Rahul Gandhi sparks off controversy
The recent controversy over Savarkar can be traced to former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s statement at the Bharat Bachao rally where he remarked that he was not ‘Rahul Savarkar’ to apologise for his ‘Rape in India’ remark. It was a reference to Savarkar's alleged apology to the British seeking an early release from prison. This evoked a series of reactions from BJP leaders, especially in Maharashtra. While the Sena chief and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray declined to criticise its ally Congress, party MP Sanjay Raut spoke in defence of Savarkar on Twitter.
Sanjay Raut's Saamana column
On December 22, Shiv Sena took an indirect dig at Congress for painting Savarkar in a poor light. Writing in his ‘Rokthok’ column in Saamana, Sena MP Sanjay Raut dared those accusing Savarkar of apologising to the British to spend even 72 hours in the Andaman prison. Contending that it had become a fashion for those having no contribution in the freedom struggle to question Savarkar, he claimed that even Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru had not gone through the torment faced by the likes of Savarkar. In the column, he recalled Savarkar’s work after coming back to India.
Updated 11:27 IST, December 23rd 2019