Do not insult Veer Savarkar: Shiv Sena warns Rahul Gandhi
Mumbai/IBNS: The Shiv Sena has warned the leader of its Maharashtra ally Congress, Rahul Gandhi, for taking the name of independence activist Veer Savarkar while hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a mega rally which was held in Ramlila Maidan here on Saturday.
Countering the BJP's demand for his apology over his "Rape in India" jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul at his party's "Bharat Bachao Rally" said, "The BJP asked me to apologise. My name is not Rahul Savarkar, it is Rahul Gandhi, I will never apologise for the truth. I will die, but I will not apologise."
Protesting Rahul's comment, Sena MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut said, "Veer Savarkar is the God of not only Maharashtra but the country.... Like Nehru and Gandhi, Savarkar sacrificed his life for independence. Every such God should be honoured. There are no compromises. Jai Hind."
"We believe in Pandit Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi. Do not insult Veer Savarkar. Jai Hind," the Sena leader added.
The row broke out after Rahul, while speaking at a rally in Jharkhand few days ago, had said, "Narendra Modi used to say Make in India. But it is Rape in India all over. Everyday in newspapers, some news or the other about rape comes out."
"Narendra Modi remains silent when his own MLAs rape women. He said Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (save girls and educate them) but he didn't say from whom to save," he had added.
Several women BJP MPs-led by Smriti Irani- protested against the comment and demanded an apology on the floor of Parliament on Friday minutes before the lower house was adjourned sine die.
Barely few weeks ago, the Sena has installed its own government in Maharashtra in an alliance with completely ideologically different Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The government under the Chief Ministership of Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray was formed following weeks of deadlock which had occurred in Maharashtra after the Sena broke ties with the BJP over the 50:50 power share and rotational Chief Ministership in the government.
Interestingly, the BJP on Saturday reached out to Sena urging the latter to renew the alliance to once again form the Maharashtra government if Uddhav's party finds difficulty to deal with the Congress and NCP in implementing the new controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which will grant citizenship to all non-Muslim refugees who came to India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan before 2015.
Senior BJP leader Ashish Shelar said his party can make compromises in that case to install the Maharashtra government.
Though the Sena voted in favour of the Act (then a bill) in the Lok Sabha, the party walked out of the Rajya Sabha during voting on Wednesday.
The Sena said it had walked out because its queries were not answered by the ruling BJP in Parliament.
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