- Saturday, December 14, 2024
The Congress leader pointed out that Savarkar had said there is nothing Indian about the Constitution, and he preferred Hindu religious text ‘Manusmriti’
By: Shajil Kumar
LEADER of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday cited V D Savarkar’s remarks that there was nothing Indian about the Constitution and took a jibe at the BJP, saying that by talking of protecting the Constitution, the ruling party is “ridiculing” Savarkar.
Participating in a debate on 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution, the Congress leader said Savarkar, who is seen as an ideologue of the BJP and RSS, had said there is nothing Indian about the Constitution, and that he preferred Hindu religious text ‘Manusmriti’ to it.
“The Constitution is a document of modern India but it could never have been written without ancient India and her ideas,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Savarkar had said there is nothing Indian about the Constitution and called Manusmriti a scripture “most worshipable” for Hindus after the Vedas, according to Gandhi.
“Nice that you say you are defending the Constitution, but I want to ask, do you stand by your leader’s words? Because when you speak about protecting the Constitution you are abusing, ridiculing Savarkar,” the Leader of Opposition told the BJP.
He said a battle is taking place in India, and recited the story of ‘Eklavya’ who had sacrificed his thumb as a tribute to Guru Dronacharya.
“When you give Dharavi to Adani, you chop off the thumb of the small and medium businesses there…You have fired tear gas shells on farmers outside Delhi, the farmers are asking for fair prices…You are cutting the thumb of that farmer,” he said.
The Congress leader also talked about caste census, and supported removing the 50 percent cap on reservations.
BJP attacks Rahul
Countering Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of Savarkar, the BJP and its ally, Shiv Sena, reminded the Congress leader on Saturday that his grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi had hailed the Hindutva ideologue as a “remarkable son of India” and issued a postage stamp in his honour.
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde wondered whether Indira Gandhi was also anti-Constitution as she had praised Savarkar as a “remarkable son of India”.
“You have the habit of speaking nonsense about Savarkarji…. But we revere Savarkarji, we are proud of him,” Shinde said.
The House witnessed tumultuous scenes when Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi sought to respond to Shinde’s remarks, but was disallowed by the Chair.
“I had asked this question to Indira Gandhi when I was younger. Indira Gandhi said Savarkarji compromised with the British, wrote a letter to the British and asked for forgiveness from the British,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Shinde wondered whether the members of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) agreed with the views of the Congress on Savarkar.
Former law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad suggested that Gandhi should visit the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to understand the sufferings Savarkar underwent as a prisoner there.
“He has issues with Savarkar. He should visit the Cellular Jail where Savarkar was incarcerated for 11 years,” Prasad said. (PTI)
