Uddhav Miffed At Rahul Gandhi’s Dig At Savarkar; May Approach Top Congress Leadership: Sources

Gandhi who was already under attack from BJP over his 'rape in India' remark, on Saturday, said he will die but never apologise for speaking truth as he is a Gandhi and not a Savarkar.

Photo/PTI

New Delhi: Shiv Sena openly came out in support of Veer Savarkar, and slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after his controversial statement on Hindutva icon Veer Savarkar. As per sources, a clearly miffed Uddhav Thckaeray will approach Congress high command to register a complaint about the Wayanad MP. Gandhi who was already under attack from BJP over his 'rape in India' remark, on Saturday, said he will die but never apologise for speaking truth as he is a Gandhi and not a Savarkar. His remarks that drew immediate disapproval from new-found ally Shiv Sena which said that the Hindutva icon should not be insulted. 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. Also watch: Uddhav Thackeray disgruntled with Rahul Gandhi over his Savarkar remark 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. 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. "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."