Published 08:43 IST, December 17th 2019
After Rahul Gandhi's Savarkar remark, Ram Madhav shares former PM Indira Gandhi's letter
BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav shared a picture of a letter on social media, which shows former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s admiration for Veer Savarkar.
BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav on Tuesday shared a picture of a letter on social media, which shows former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s admiration for Veer Savarkar. In the letter addressed to Pandit Bakhle, the secretary of Swatantryaveer Savarkar Rashtriya Smarak on May 20, 1980, she acknowledged Savarkar’s “daring defiance of the British government”. Maintaining that this had an important place in the Indian independence movement, she gave her best wishes on the celebration of the birth centenary of Savarkar. Most importantly, Indira Gandhi described him as a “remarkable son of India”.
'My name is not Rahul Savarkar'
The BJP's disclosure of the letter comes at a time when former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been facing criticism for his remarks on Veer Savarkar. Addressing the Bharat Bachao rally in the national capital on December 14, Rahul Gandhi refused to apologise for his ‘Rape in India’ comment saying that he was not ‘Rahul Savarkar’. He was indirectly referring to Veer Savarkar’s alleged apology to the British seeking an early release from the Andaman jail.
Rahul Gandhi remarked, "I was told in the parliament by BJP that I should apologise for my speech. They asked me to apologise for saying the truth. My name is not Rahul Savarkar, it is Rahul Gandhi. I will never apologise for the truth, I will die but not say sorry and neither any Congress worker will apologise. Narendra Modi must apologise to the country," he said at the Bharat Bachao Rally in Delhi.
'A classical revolutionary'
While the Congress party backed Gandhi on this occasion, it had a radically different stance on Savarkar at the time of his demise on February 26, 1966. Several top leaders such as the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi herself praised Savarkar. She described his name as a byword for daring and patriotism.
“The Prime Minister of India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, said that Mr. Savarkar’s death “removes from our midst a great figure of contemporary India.” Describing his name as a byword for daring and patriotism, Mrs. Gandhi said Mr. Savarkar was cast in the mould of a classical revolutionary and countless people drew inspiration from him.” (Source: February 26, 1966 Times of India)
Updated 09:21 IST, December 17th 2019