Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis has sought the opinion of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray over the decision of the Karnataka government to remove chapters on RSS founder KB Hedgewar. Day after the Congress government in the southern state made the announcement, Fadnavis asked if Uddhav Thackeray, who is in alliance with Congress in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), shares the same view. Taking to Twitter, Fadnavis lashed out at the Karnataka government saying that they can remove lessons but cannot remove Veer Savarkar from people's minds. He also asked if Uddhav Thackeray has made a 'compromise' on his ideology for power.
"...You can't remove Hedgewar Ji. You cannot remove a single freedom fighter from people's minds. But, nothing different is expected after the Congress government comes," he said.
He went on and said, "I question the Mahavikas Aghadi, the kind of decisions that the Karnataka government is taking, only to facilitate the minorities. What do you say, will you bring the Karnataka pattern to Maharashtra, is it Karnataka pattern? My question is to Uddhav Thackeray. Now tell me exactly what your reaction is. If those on whose lap you are sitting are going to erase the name of freedom fighter Savarkar, are going to fully support conversion...you should also say what is your exact opinion on this now. Was this compromise made for power?"
Fadnavis further said, "In Karnataka, the way Swatantryaveer Savarkarji, Dr. Hedgewarji's name was removed or the way conversions were encouraged, all such things have been done, I would just like to say that you can erase someone's name from a book but someone's name can not be erased from the heart."
He said that with the removal of the lessons, Congress cannot erase the names of those who have contributed to the freedom of the country. He added that he only wanted to ask Uddhav Thackeray if "Those who are sitting shoulder to shoulder with Congress in Mahavikas Aghadi, what is your reaction now?"
"Do you accept the way appeasement of minority communities is going on only for power, will you accept this insult of Veer Savarkar ji? Or just settle for the chair?" Fadnavis said in the tweet.
The new Karnataka government has dropped KB Hedgewar from the syllabus. Besides dropping Hedgewar, the state government has also decided to make the reading of the preamble of the constitution and hymn in schools and colleges compulsory. Furthermore, the Karnataka government has also decided to amend the APMC Act in the state to bring back the older laws. The fresh move from the state government comes in a bid to revise changes made by the previous BJP government.
"Syllabus on K. B. Hedgewar has been dropped...whatever changes they (previous govt) have done last year, we have changed it and reintroduced whatever was there last to last year," Karnataka Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa said. The latest developments come in from the Karnataka government's cabinet meeting today. In the meeting, the state government also discussed the revision of textbooks.