Bharat Ratna For Savarkar: Mehbooba Mufti's Daughter Iltija Javed Says Country Needs to Reset Its Moral Compass

Srinagar, October 17: Reacting to the Bharatiya Janata Party's promise to confer Bharat Ratna on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Iltija Javed, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, said that the country needs to reset its moral compass. Iltija Javed, who took over her mother's Twitter account after she was detained, said that Savarkar had justified sexual assault as a weapon of war. Mehbooba Mufti Says Authorities Lying About Jammu and Kashmir Situation.

"Bharat Ratna for a man who justified rape as a weapon of war. You know a country needs to reset its moral compass when the likes of Savarkar are feted whereas a great man like Gandhiji is disrespected," she tweeted. In its manifesto for the October 21 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP raised the demand for Bharat Ratna for Savarkar along with 19th-century social reformers Jyotiba Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule.

The Congress party also took strong objections to the BJP's poll promise. Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that the Centre should not forget that Savarkar’s name was registered in a conspiracy behind Mahatma Gandhi’s murder. "Savarkar’s life had two aspects. First his participation in the independence struggle and when he came back after seeking an apology (to the British). BJP shall not forget that his name was registered in a conspiracy behind Mahatma Gandhi’s murder," Singh said.

Former Union Minister and Congress leader Manish Tiwari sought to know why the BJP is not seeking the country’s highest civilian award for Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 17, 2019 01:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).