Leave Maha Vikas Aghadi if you cannot tolerate Savarkar's insult by Rahul Gandhi: Maha BJP chief tells Uddhav Thackeray

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Tuesday dared Shiv Sena UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray to walk out of Maha Vikas Aghadi if he really cannot tolerate late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkars insult by Congress leader Rahul GandhiAddressing a press conference Bawankule said the country can never forget the contribution of SavarkarGandhis My name is not Savarkar my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone remark has drawn fire from BJPThe former Congress chief made this remark while addressing a press conference after being disqualified from Lok Sabha and amid BJPs demands for his apology for allegedly insulting OBCs Other Backward Classes with his Modi surname remark that got him convicted for criminal defamationAgainst this backdrop Thackeray told a rally in Maharashtra on Sunday that he considers Savarkar as his idol and asked Gandhi to refrain from insulting himAlso Read Sharad Pawar should ask Rahul Gandhi to apologise Veer Savarkars grandsonUddhav Thackeray is just doing drama by saying the insult of Savarkar is not acceptable While Rahul Gandhi has been targeting Savarkar for the last three years he Thackeray was only concerned about his and his sons ministerial posts when he was the chief minister Bawankule allegedHe said Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray never tolerated the insult of Savarkar but Uddhav is tolerating it every dayYou say Savarkars insult is unacceptable If that is the case then why arent you leaving MVA I dare Uddhav to slap a photo of Rahul Gandhi on this issue the BJP leader saidThe MVA formed after the 2019 Maharashtra elections and which remained in power till June 2022 when the Thackerayled government collapsed comprises Shiv Sena UBT Nationalist Congress Party and CongressBawankules remarks come a day after chief minister Eknath Shinde targeted Uddhav saying Bal Thackeray had launched a joda mara abhiyaan hitting with slippers in 2004 against the then Union minister and Congressman Mani Shankar Aiyar for his remarks against SavarkarHe announced the BJP will take out Veer Savarkar Gaurav Yatras in all 288 Assembly segments in Maharashtra from March 30 to April 6 and apart from senior BJP leaders including Devendra Fadnavis CM Shinde and 40 MLAs of Shiv Sena will also participateWe will reach out to people with the history of Savarkar and how he is being insulted by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and MPCC chief Nana Patole he saidBawankule claimed Uddhav Thackeray has been using his surname to attack him which amounts to insulting the OBC communityThis 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