Mumbai: Reacting sharply to Rahul Gandhi’s statement on Hindutva icon, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the Shiv Sena on Saturday said that there would not be any compromise on the Hindutva icon and he must be respected.
“Veer Savarkar is an idol for the entire country and not just Maharashtra. The name Savarkar denotes pride about nation and self. Like Nehru and Gandhi, Savarkar too sacrificed his life for the country. Every such idol must be respected. There is no compromise on this,” senior Sena leader, Sanjay Raut tweeted.
“Just as we revere Pandit Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, you should not insult Veer Savarkar,” he added.
Addressing the Congress’ mega ‘Bharat Bachao Rally’ in Delhi earlier in the day, Gandhi rejected the BJP’s demand for an apology over his ‘rape in India’ remark.
“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,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state BJP leaders have also slammed Gandhi over his statements on Veer Savarkar saying that he should apologise to the nation for his ‘irresponsible’ statements.
Former CM, Devendra Fadnavis, tweeted, “Rahul Gandhi’s statement is absolutely condemnable! He is nowhere close to even a single good deed of Veer Savarkar & his greatness. Not just this, he should not even do the blunder of considering himself as ‘Gandhi’! One cannot become ‘Gandhi’ by just keeping his surname as Gandhi!”
Fadnavis also added that Rahul Gandhi must apologise for making the irresponsible statement.
