Rahul Gandhi 'shamelessly lying' about Savarkar, says Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his comments against V D Savarkar saying he has been shamelessly lying about the freedom fighter Speaking at an event in Mumbai Fadnavis said the people of Maharashtra will give a proper response to people insulting the Hindutva ideologueRahul Gandhi like other Congress leaders has been lying daily about the late V D Savarkar The people of Maharashtra people will give them a proper response at right time said the senior Bharatiya Janata Party BJP leader I want to know how many Congress leaders went through suffering like Savarkar for 11 years Despite such prolonged torture he sang song of freedom said Fadnavis reacting to Gandhis critical comments on the freedom fighter during his Bharat Jodo YatraGandhi does not know anything about Savarkar he said Rahul Gandhi reads out what someone gives him in writing These fools do not even know how many years he spent in jailin what condition he lived Fadnavis said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also targeted the Congress leader over his comments on Savarkar and said the people of the state will not tolerate any insult directed at himAlso read Bharat Jodo Yatra continues in Akola Rahul Gandhi interacts with localsAddressing a rally in Washim district on Tuesday organised as part of his yatra Gandhi had said Savarkar is a symbol of the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS He was jailed in Andaman for twothree years He started writing mercy petitions the Congress MP had said The former Congress president had claimed Savarkar wrote a book on himself with a different name and highlighted how brave he was He used to take pension from the British work for them and work against the Congress Gandhi had saidSpeaking at a symposium on Hindutva held at Savarkar Memorial here Shinde in an apparent reference to his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray said while the freedom fighter a revered figure in Maharashtra was insulted there were those who took a soft stand on the issue At the same event Lok Sabha MP Rahul Shewale who is affiliated to the Shiv Sena Balasaheb the faction led by Shinde demanded that the Bharat Jodo Yatra be stopped in the state for insulting the late freedom fighterThe Congresss crosscountry footmarch led by Gandhi is currently passing through Maharashtra The people of the state will not tolerate insult of Savarkar under any circumstances Shinde warned at the symposium organised on the eve of the 10th death anniversary of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray The CM along with MLAs and MPs of his faction later visited the memorial of the Sena founder at Shivaji Park in central Mumbai which is located close to Savarkar MemorialSavarkar is frequently insulted he is addressed as Mafiveer by his critics for his mercy petitions We are seeing that a soft stand is being taken against them those who insult Savarkar Shinde said in an apparent reference to Uddhav Thackeray who is an ally of the Congress Shinde said Gandhi thinks he can challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his crosscountry march but the PM has never compromised on the issue of nationalism for powerReferring to Uddhav Thackeray the CM said when Fadnavis was the Leader of Opposition November 2019June 2022 he had moved a resolution in the Assembly to honour Savarkar but the thenchief minister and the Speaker had argued that such a step did not fit in House rules Fadnavis a senior BJP leader is now deputy chief ministerEven we Shinde and some of his MLAs were there in that Uddhav Cabinet But it was unfortunate that we had to look at this stand with open eyes said the chief minister Shinde maintained his challenge to Shiv Sena leadership which ultimately brought down the Uddhav Thackerayled Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government in June was an uprising and not a rebellion to safeguard party founders idealsBalasahebs Thackeray ideals were trampled upon and we could not bear it So we staged an uprising We did not revolt We did not think of any loss or profit when we went ahead with Balasahebs ideals and revolted against Uddhavwe took our stand publicly said the CM The chief minister said Savarkar maintained that Hindutva meant nationalism and Bal Thackeray showed this to the country and Maharashtra through his actions and termed the two personalities as Hinduhriday Samrats emperors of Hindu heartsDuring the freedom struggle Savarkar was sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to Andaman by the British Such patriots sacrificed their lives and families for freedom that people enjoy today said the Shiv Sena Balasaheb leader These freedom fighters are being insulted from time to time The people of the country and the state will teach a lesson to those who are involved in such acts No one can deny the sacrifices made by Swatantra Veer Savarkar he saidTaking another dig at Uddhav Thackeray Shinde said some people are hesitant in taking the name of warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and calling Bal Thackeray a Hinduhriday Samrat No one will ever tolerate the insult of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Balasaheb It is not in our blood to do politics in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Balasaheb and then compromise for power he said in an apparent reference to his main political rivalThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever