Rahul Gandhi Firm On Savarkar Remark, Uddhav Thackeray Says "We Don't Agree, But..."

As Rahul Gandhi stuck to his criticism of Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar over mercy petitions to the British during the freedom struggle, Congress partner and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray today said his party — the Shiv Sena faction he leads — has “immense respect” for VD Savarkar. 

“We don't agree with what Rahul Gandhi has said. We respect Veer Savarkar. But, at the same time, when you are questioning us, the BJP should also have to say why they were they in power with PDP (in Jammu and Kashmir),” said Mr Thackeray, who's been accused of “ditching his father Bal Thackeray's Hindutva legacy” by allying with the Congress and NCP. "The PDP would never say ‘Bharat mata ki jai'," he claimed.

“We have allied with the Congress to maintain the freedom we got from the British,” he told reporters. Both parties have faced such controversies earlier as well, ever since Mr Thackeray broke up with the BJP to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi with Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar's parties in 2019.

Later in the day, Rahul Gandhi backed up his remarks at a press conference in Maharashtra's Akola, showing a copy of VD Savarkar's letter seeking mercy: "Savarkar ji wrote in it: 'I beg to remain, sir, your most obedient servant.' When he signed this letter, what was the reason? It was fear. He was afraid of the British."

On disagreements with allies on this, Mr Gandhi said, "If someone wants to put their ideology forward, they should." 

"This is my opinion about Savarkar ji signing this letter," he said, citing that Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel spent years in jail, "yet they never signed such a letter". "These are two ideologies. Our party is open to discussion. We have no dictators." 

Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray asked why the BJP's central government has not conferred the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, on the late VD Savarkar. “Whoever is questioning us, what's their contribution on the freedom struggle of the country? They don't have the right to question us on Savarkar,” he argued.

Rahul Gandhi had said at a function in memory of tribal leader Birsa Munda in Washim: “Despite the British offering him land, [Birsa Munda] refused to bow down; he chose death. We, the Congress party, consider him our idol. For the BJP and RSS, Savarkar ji, who wrote mercy petitions to the British and accepted pension, is an idol.”

The Congress has stood by Rahul Gandhi's comments. “It is a fact: Savarkar was the one who apologised to the British, and sold out the country to the British. I will also say this,” senior leader Digvijaya Singh said in Gujarat today.

In Maharashtra, meanwhile, supporters of the Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde — who unseated Uddhav Thackeray in June to “resume Shiv Sena's natural ideological alliance with the BJP” — held protests against Rahul Gandhi.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP has alleged that Rahul Gandhi and Congress are “spreading distorted history” about VD Savarkar, “but the people of Maharashtra will teach them a lesson”.

He also attacked Uddhav Thackeray, saying he has no right to take Bal Thackeray's name. “Balasaheb Thackeray took Savarkar's Hindutva ideology forward all his life. He attacked the people demeaning Veer Savarkar. Unfortunately, leaders from his family participated in Rahul Gandhi's Yatra.”

Uddhav's son Aaditya Thackeray participated in the Yatra with Mr Gandhi earlier this week.