NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi found himself at odds with new ally Shiv Sena on Saturday, with the Maharashtra outfit slamming his jibe at Veer Savarkar as a person who sought clemency from the British, saying that insulting the Hindutva icon is unacceptable.

Speaking at a rally here on Saturday, Gandhi rejected BJP’s demand that he apologise for his comment that ‘Make in India’ had been replaced by ‘rape in India’, saying his name was not Rahul Savarkar, a play on the suggestion that Savarkar had pleaded for remission of his jail term.

While the intention was to challenge BJP, the jibe elicited a sharp rebuke from Sena. BJP, too, hit back, saying a “more appropriate” name for the Congress MP would be ‘Rahul Jinnah’.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut tweeted: “We believe in Pandit Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi . Do not insult Veer Savarkar.”

In another tweet, Raut added: “Veer Savarkar is the God of not only Maharashtra, but the country. The name Savarkar implies national pride and self-respect. Like Nehru and Gandhi, Savarkar sacrificed his life for Independence... No compromise on this,” he added.

Raut tweeted again, driving the point home, saying: “We respect Pandit Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, you don’t insult Savarkar, samajne wale samaj gaye (those who understand, have understood).” Savarkar, he said, stood for “tej, tyag, tap, tatva...Atal Bihari Vajpayee”.

Gandhi’s remark at Congress’ ‘Bharat Bachao Rally’ is not the first time he has sought to run down Savarkar as a serial apologist. The characterisation has been contested, with biographers pointing out that Savarkar suffered harsh labour and torture during his 11 years in the Andamans.

While there is an ideological divide over Savarkar, he is widely venerated in Maharashtra and Sena has backed the call to award him a Bharat Ratna. Sena’s sharp counter drove home the ideological contradictions that line the Maharashtra coalition formed between “secular” Congress and “Hindutva” Sena along with NCP of Sharad Pawar which is “regional and secular”.

Concerns over contradictions and divergences on such issues had been aired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in her discussions with Pawar before going ahead with the plan to stall BJP from forming a government. Congress did not offer any comment on Raut’s tweets, with functionaries saying the incident will have no bearing on the Maharashtra government.

They said Congress will continue to articulate its views. The Savarkar moment comes after Sena voted for the citizenship amendment bill in Lok Sabha but walked out of the vote in Rajya Sabha after Congress expressed unhappiness. While Sena acknowledged Congress’ discomfiture then, an outright derogatory reference to Savarkar as a serial petitionist who promised fealty to the ‘British Raj’ was too much to stomach. The Sena brass clearly felt silence will prove costly and give BJP a handle with the party having called him “Rahul Jinnah” after the remark. The two incidents are likely to stoke unease in Congress over the future of the coalition government where other more mundane issues like portfolio allocation have proved challenging. It will tax Pawar’s ability as a coalition manager to ensure such shocks do not erode trust and enlarge fault-lines among the allies.

Reminding his audience that BJP had asked for his apology in Parliament on Friday, Rahul said, “My name is not Rahul Savarkar, it is Rahul Gandhi. I will give my life but never apologise for speaking the truth. It is Narendra Modi and assistant Amit Shah who should apologise to the country for destroying India's economy.



In Video: Insulting Hindutva icon is unacceptable: Shiv Sena after Rahul's Savarkar jibe