Union minister Nitin Gadkari, on Tuesday, demanded that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should apologise for his critical remarks on late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar. He said that nobody has the right to insult the Hindutva icon.
Speaking at the Savarkar Gaurav Yatra in Nagpur, Gadkari said that Gandhi must realise he made the remarks due to some misunderstanding.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said the former Congress president should show a big heart and apologise for his "crime".
"Who has given him the right to insult Savarkar? No one will tolerate the insult of Savarkar," Gadkari maintained.
In a lighter vein, Gadkari thanked Gandhi for giving the BJP an opportunity to make the country's youth aware about Savarkar's life and message through the yatra.
Gadkari’s comments came days after Rahul Gandhi stirred a massive row by issuing insulting remarks against VD Savarkar. The former Congress chief has constantly targeted Savarkar by raking up the issue of his mercy plea. Rahul Gandhi’s recent attack came last month following his disqualification from the Lok Sabha when he said, "My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone.”
Meanwhile, in efforts to honour Savarkar and counter Rahul Gandhi’s criticism against him, the BJP and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena have organised "Savarkar Gaurav Yatras" in the state.
According to an HT report, Gadkari said that Rahul Gandhi hasn’t read what his grandparents, Indira Gandhi and Feroze Gandhi said about Savarkar. “It was Savarkar who showed that Hindutva is a way of life. He broke caste barriers,” Gadkari was quoted as saying.”
Earlier on Monday, the Congress leader was granted bail by a Surat Sessions Court, in the case till the disposal of his appeal on a bond of Rs 15,000. The next hearing in the case will be held on April 13.
The former MP from Wayanad was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate H H Varma on March 23 in a defamation case over his 'Modi surname' remark in 2019 in Karnataka.
The matter pertains to Rahul's remarks at a rally in Karnataka's Kolar in April 2019. Rahul, while taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had said, "How come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?".
Following his conviction, Rahul was disqualified as an MP on March 24, as per a Supreme Court ruling in 2013. Under the ruling, any MP or MLA stands to be disqualified automatically if convicted and sentenced to two years or more.