On Thursday, Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra featured the posters of Veer Savarkar in the Mandya district of Karnataka along with pictures of Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar and former state chief minister Siddaramaiah. It is pertinent to note that Congress has made it a point to deride the freedom fighter Veer Savarkar whenever they get the opportunity.
The poster was attributed to Shanthi Nagar MLA Nalapad Ahmed Haris of the Congress Party, who maintained a defensive stance to blame “unknown persons” for putting the poster up on the streets of the city.
According to the reports, Haris said that the posters were not put up by the Congress party members and that someone else had deliberately printed the posters. He also said that an official complaint would be filed against the unknown persons and the case would be investigated. “This is done by miscreants and not us. We will file a complaint in Mandya district,” Haris was quoted.
The incident that happened on October 6 was recognised by several BJP leaders who targeted the Congress party amid the Bharat Jodo rally. “After Kerala now Karnataka – Savarkar ji posters appear again in Congress’ Bharat Jodo! Clear testament that it is only with Veer Savarkar’s ideology that Bharat Jodo can truly happen! Congress can blame miscreants but truth always emerges”, tweeted BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla.
After Kerala now Karnataka – Savarkar ji posters appear again in Congress’ Bharat Jodo!
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) October 7, 2022
Clear testament that it is only with Veer Savarkar’s ideology that Bharat Jodo can truly happen!
Congress can blame miscreants but truth always emerges https://t.co/pO6davBxPT
Also, BJP leader from Andhra Pradesh Vishnu Vardhan Reddy passed sarcastic comments on the incident. “Interesting!! Congress puts up Veer Savarkar’s posters in Karnataka. Seems like some of their workers have read the real history and think outside Gandhi-Nehru family as well!!”, he said hindering the Congress party.
Interesting!! Congress puts up Veer Savarkar’s posters in Karnataka.
— Vishnu Vardhan Reddy (@SVishnuReddy) October 7, 2022
Seems like some of their workers have read the real history & think outside Gandhi-Nehru family as well!! pic.twitter.com/qjswdyUuhu
Earlier, on September 21, a similar incident happened in Aluva in the state of Kerala where the Congress members had put up the poster of Veer Savarkar amid the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The said banner included pictures of almost all the freedom fighters including Veer Savarkar who has repeatedly been insulted by Rahul Gandhi and his party.
The Congress later claimed that it was a printing mistake, contending that it had wanted to use the pictures of freedom fighters and made an error. The party maintained that the booth-level workers had taken the images from the internet and failed to cross-check before printing the poster. The poster was later covered with the image of MK Gandhi and later taken down, after Congress was called out for using the image of Veer Savarkar while deriding and insulting him repeatedly.
Shehzad Poonawalla back then had also slammed the party for insulting Veer Savarkar in the past and said, “Veer Savarkar against whom Rahul has been spewing lies was exposed when his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Aluva, Ernakulam carried posters of Veer Savarkar. Rahul ji, no matter how much you try, history and truth comes out. Savarkar was Veer! Those who hide are the kaayars”.
Rahul ji, no matter how much you try… history and truth comes out
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) September 21, 2022
Savarkar was Veer ! Those who hide are the “kaayars”
To note, the Congress Party and its members including Rahul Gandhi have repeatedly insulted the great revolutionary and freedom fighter Swatantryaveer Savarkar and called him a ‘traitor’ for his ‘mercy petitions’ to the British while he was in jail in the Andamans, where he was incarcerated from 1911 to 1921. The Congress has never considered Veer Savarkar to be a freedom fighter, blatantly claiming that he only apologised to the British instead of fighting them.
Rahul Gandhi has insulted the great revolutionary leader several times in the past. In 2019, the Congress leader while addressing the ‘Bharat Bachao Rally’ in New Delhi had unnecessarily dragged Veer Savarkar’s name in his speech. He was speaking about the rape incidents in the country and had said that he was Rahul Gandhi and not ‘Rahul Savarkar’ to keep the truths in hiding.
Also, recently in Kerala in March 2022, he invoked Veer Savarkar again, terming him a ‘traitor’. Blatantly criticising the BJP who had hung MK Gandhi’s photo opposite to Veer Savarkar’s photo at Parliament House, Gandhi had said that a traitor can never be a patriot. “A patriot can become a traitor, by making a mistake. But a traitor can never be a patriot. That is who Veer Savarkar was. BJP does drama on Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Ambedkar, Subhash Chandra Bose because their leader was a traitor”, he had said.
The ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ was started by Rahul Gandhi along with other leaders of the party, Congress workers and several ‘activists’ on September 7. It started from Kanyakumari and is expected to end after 150 days in Kashmir. The Yatra will cover 3,500 KM across 12 states.
