The BJP’s push for honouring one of the country’s greatest heroes – Veer Savarkar, with a Bharat Ratna has again exposed fault lines within the Congress party. The interim president Sonia Gandhi is reportedly upset as senior leaders in the party are expressing a conflicting opinion on the issue.
After BJP pitched the idea of a Bharat Ratna on Savarkar, Congress national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Singhvi on Monday had called Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar an accomplished man who played a part in the freedom struggle and went to jail for the country.
I personally don’t subscribe to Savarkar’s ideology but that doesn’t take away the fact that he was an accomplished man who played part in our freedom struggle, flights for Dalit rights and went to jail for the country. #NeverForget
— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) October 21, 2019
Speaking to News18, Abhishek Manu Singhvi had even said that someone cannot deny that Savarkar was a nationalist. He added, “No less than a person that Dr Manmohan Singh has said that those who ascribe villainy to Savarkar from the Congress are not right. Indira Gandhi would not have written that letter. Dr Manmohan Singh would not have said so.”
Following his appreciation for Veer Savarkar, the Congress party and its ecosystem were dejected and angry against the party leader Singhvi for expressing his viewpoint on Savarkar.
Some media reports claim that the Congress high command is upset with party leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi for praising Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on the crucial day of assembly election in Maharastra and Haryana.
An India Today report suggests that Abhishek Manu Singhvi received a call from a senior party leader about his tweet and its timing. It claims that the call was made at the behest of Congress President Sonia Gandhi who was reportedly not pleased with Singhvi’s tweet.
With party leadership taking a strong note on his tweets on Savarkar, the Rajya Sabha MP Singhvi shifted to the damage control mode, as he gave a series of explanation stating that every word he tweeted was his personal view and not the official line of the party.
Later, Singhvi had to put out another tweet toning down his praise on Savarkar. “The strength of Indian thinking has been inclusive. Many strands of the freedom movement have existed-one can’t agree with the jingoism or violent elements of Savarkar’s nationalism nor with his vicious anti-Gandhism but one can accept that he was imbued by nationalist motives,” Abhishek Manu Singhvi said in another tweet.
The strength of Indian thinking has been inclusive. Many strands of the freedom movement have existed—one cnot agree with the jingoism or violent elements of #Savarkar’s nationalism nor with his vicious anti #Gandhism but one can accept that he was imbued by nationalist motives.
— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) October 21, 2019
Since the abrogation of Article 370, the Congress party has become a divided house as senior leaders are seen making contradictory remarks on sensitive issues. The party had faced similar embarrassing situation after many leaders came out in support of abrogation of Article 370 by the Centre despite the party taking an opposite stand against the BJP-ruled government’s decision.
Senior Congress leaders like Salman Khurshid had concurred with the BJP government’s epoch-making move claiming Congress too would have aspired to revoke the Article 370.
Former Haryana CM Deepender Hooda too had extended his support for the abrogation saying that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and such a move will be beneficial to Kashmiris. Jyotiraditya Scindia too had voiced his support over the central government’s decision to abrogate Article 370.
