Countering Rahul Gandhi's criticism of V D Savarkar, the Bharatiya Janata Party 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".
He read out a letter written by Indira Gandhi to Pandit Bakhle of the Swatantryaveer Savarkar Rashtriya Smarak on the occasion of the freedom fighter's birth centenary celebrations.
"Was your grandmother also anti-Constitution? 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.
"Indira Gandhi said (Mahatma) Gandhiji went to jail, (Jawaharlal) Nehruji went to jail and Savarkarji sought forgiveness. This was the position of Indira Gandhi," he said.
Shinde wondered whether the members of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) agreed with the views of the Congress on Savarkar.
Earlier, Gandhi referred to Savarkar's criticism of the Constitution that there was "nothing Indian about it" to mount an attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He said the ruling party is defaming and ridiculing its own "supreme leader" when it talks about protecting the Constitution.
Hitting back at the former Congress president, BJP member Nishikant Dubey said Rahul Gandhi cannot be Savarkar in his entire lifetime.
"Indira Gandhi had issued a postage stamp in the honour of Veer Savarkar. In 1979, Indira Gandhi made a donation of Rs 11,000 from her personal account to the Savarkar Trust. In 1983, Indira Gandhi got a documentary made on Savarkar by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting," Dubey said.
The BJP leader added that in 1980, Indira Gandhi said a worthy son like Savarkar is born once in an era.
"Rahul Gandhi can never be Savarkar and he should apologise to his grandmother," Dubey said.
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.
"One can speak anything to further one's politics, but one should not say such things for a person who made great sacrifices for the nation," he added.
