Bhilare Guruji is said to have stopped an assassination bid by Nathuram Godse

Veteran Congress and NCP leader and three-time MLA Bhiku Daji Bhilare, 98, who is believed to have saved Mahatma Gandhi from an assassination attempt by Nathuram Godse in 1944, passed away early on Wednesday at his native village of Bhilar near Mahabaleshwar.

He was known affectionately as Bhilare Guruji throughout his political life. A member of the yesteryear generation of Congressmen, he quit the party to join Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 1999. But to the surprise of many, his death found a mention on the official Twitter accounts of the Congress and its vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday.

“A staunch Gandhian & a freedom fighter, Bhilare Guruji was a selfless custodian of the values we hold dear. Very sad to learn of his passing,” Mr. Gandhi tweeted. Mr. Gandhi is facing a trial in Bhiwandi for linking Godse to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The Congress’s official account was more direct. “Remembering Bhilare Guruji who passed away today. He restrained Nathuram Godse when he attempted to attack Gandhiji at Panchagani in 1944,” it said.

Veteran Congress leader Ratnakar Mahajan said Bhilare Guruji worked as a volunteer for Mahatma Gandhi when he visited Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar. “In July 1944, during one such visit, a group from Pune led by Nathuram Godse protested outside the place where Gandhiji was staying.” Gandhiji invited the protesters for talks.

“Instead, Godse ran with a dagger in his hand towards Gandhiji, but promptly stopped by Bhilare guruji. He was let go after being slapped, while the rest of the group too ran away,” said Mr. Mahajan.

The incident is mentioned in Let’s Kill Gandhi, a book by the Mahatma’s great grandson Tushar Gandhi. The book delves into how fundamentalists had planned and made many attempts on Gandhiji’s life.

In 2008, at an event in Mumbai, Bhilare Guruji was lauded for having had the presence of mind at the time. “It was a wet July evening in Panchgani in 1944,” Bhilare Guruji had recalled at the event. “All of us had assembled in the Batha High School hall for the evening prayers, when suddenly a door opposite me opened and in rushed Nathuram Godse. He was wielding a knife and muttering incoherently.”

Bhilare blocked his path and twisted the knife out of his hand. “My colleagues in the Rashtra Seva Dal were also quick to react, and threw him out of the premises,” he had said.

Bhilare Guruji lived his life with the legacy of this incident. “We remember him telling us this story many times. He was a Gandhian till his last day, and believed in those ideals. It was good that the Congress leadership remembered him,” Anil Bhilare, the village’s deputy sarpanch and Bhilare Guruji’s nephew, told The Hindu.

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ashok Chavan, too, expressed grief over the demise of Bhilare Guruji, saying he was one of guides of the state committee of the party.

Bhilar village, known for its strawberry production, recently also becameIndia’s first ‘book village’, where tourists can visit to read books in libraries set up at villagers’ houses. It is inspired by British village Hay-on-Wye, known for its book stores and literature festivals.

(With inputs from PTI)