New Delhi, October 3: The BJP on Thursday flayed the Congress over Karnataka Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao's controversial remarks about VD Savarkar, saying the revolutionary freedom fighter is insulted by the party whose leaders never ever faced imprisonment at cellular jail in Andaman-Nicobar Islands by the British.

The BJP's reaction came after Rao, while addressing an event in Bengaluru, claimed that Savarkar used to eat meat and was not against cow slaughter. He also said that Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, was not a fundamentalist but Savarkar was. Veer Savarkar Photo Row: Ministers, MLAs Should Focus on Their Work, Says Karnataka Assembly Speaker UT Khader.

“The party whose none of the leaders ever suffered ‘kala pani ki saja' even for one day is insulting the person who was handed down double life imprisonment at cellular jail in Andaman-Nicobar Islands,” BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh told PTI, when asked for comment. Rao's statement is “unfortunate, insulting and highly condemnable”, he said.

“Insulting Veer Savarkar, who was an inspiration to revolutionaries in the country, is akin to spitting on the moon,” Chugh added. The BJP leader alleged it has become a “habit” of the Congress to always insult the freedom fighters and soldiers of the country. Veer Savarkar Photo Row: 'Will Take Down Jawaharlal Nehru’s Photo if VD Savarkar’s Picture Is Removed,' Says Karnataka BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal.

“Kanhaiya Kumar, who raises ‘bharat tere tukde honge' slogan, is embraced. Red carpet is rolled out for those who consider Afzal Guru (Parliament attack convict) a hero…What kind of ‘mohabbat ki dukan' Rahul Gandhi has opened where the martyrs and freedom fighters are insulted?” he charged.

BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also lashed out at the Congress over the Karnataka minister's remarks and asked the party to tell the name of any of its top leaders who was handed down double life imprisonment and lodged at the cellular jail in Andaman-Nicobar Islands by the British.

He said William Wedderburn, a British civil servant, was the president of the Indian National Congress when Savarkar was handed down life imprisonment. “They were sitting under the feet of the British rulers,” Trivedi charged.

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