New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Thursday reiterated that Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar had begged the Britishers to free him from jail and he will stay their ‘most obedient servant’.

Said the Congress MP: “Veer Savarkar, in a letter written to the British, said ‘Sir, I beg to remain your most obedient servant’ and signed on it. Savarkar helped the British. He betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel by signing the letter out of fear.”

This has triggered a political brawl as Congress’ ally in Maharashtra, Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray shows disagreement on Gandhi’s statement.

He questioned why the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre has not already conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, on the late 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.

The Thackeray faction was immensely criticised by several political parties and Hindutava outfits for aligning with the Congress and the National Congress Party (NCP) for the sake of coming to power in the state.

It was alleged that the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) formed the alliance betraying the true principals of Balasaheb Thackeray, who founded the party.

Meanwhile, grandson of VD Savarkar, Ranjit Savarkar said that he will file a complaint against Rahul Gandhi for ‘insulting the great freedom fighter’.

VD Savarkar’s Grandson To File Complaint Against Rahul Gandhi

“It is not the first time Rahul Gandhi and Congress have insulted Savarkar, in the past, they have insulted Savarkar, so I have decided to file a complaint against Rahul Gandhi at Shivaji Park police station,” said Ranjit.

“I will file a complaint for insulting our leader freedom fighter, Rahul Gandhi is a serial offender in the past in 2017 also he did the same thing,” Ranjit Sarvarkar also added, “Congress is trying to play vote bank politics and uses the same agenda of insulting Veer Savarkar,” he concluded.

Gandhi Had Said

Earlier at a function in memory of tribal leader Birsa Munda in Washim, Rahul Gandhi had said, “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.”