A mammoth portrait of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar now adorns the Legislative Assembly hall of Belagavi in Karnataka. It has irritated the congress party. The ruling BJP unveiled the portrait on the inaugural day of the winter session.
His picture has been put up along with some other noted personalities. Angry over the move, leader of opposition in the legislative assembly Siddaramaiah and KPCC President D K Shivakumar along with party MLAs staged a dharna at the Soudha entrance.
Shivakumar alleged, “Savarkar has nothing to do with Karnataka. It is pointless to bring Savarkar’s photo inside the Vidhansauda. He plotted the assassination of Gandhi. Savarkar wrote an apology letter to Britishers as he wanted them to release him from jail. He wrote that he would not take part in the freedom struggle.” However, the opposition MLAs later took to their seats without waging a protest in the legislative assembly.
Even Indira respected Savarkar
On its part the BJP said that the iconic Veer Savarkar was a nationalist who fought for the country. Ahead of 2023 polls, the BJP has started a statewide campaign to “raise awareness” about Veer Savarkar. And adorning his portrait on assembly’s wall in Belagavi is on these lines.
The BJP said contrary to congress’s assertion, he also has a connection with Belagavi. British had kept him under preventive detention in the Hindalga central prison in Belagavi for four months in 1950.
Slamming the Congress and sharing a letter written by the then PM Indira Gandhi, CT Ravi, BJP’s national general secretary, tweeted, “CONgress Slaves do not have the AUKAT to talk about Nationalist Veer Savarkar. They should just stick to worshipping their Corrupt Masters. It is high time they read about the immense respect their Party Founder and former Prime Minister Smt Indira Gandhi had for Veer Savarkar.”
“If ‘Veer’ Savarkar has no place in our national history, then I want Congress to condemn Indira Gandhi for her letter of praise. Cong can’t tolerate any icon not from the Gandhi family,” added BJP’s spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala.