New Delhi: The BJP has issued a show-cause notice to its MP Anantkumar Hegde over comments against Mahatma Gandhi, the party’s Karnataka chief Nalim Kumar Kateel said on Monday.
Kateel said the party's central leadership has served the notice to Hegde, taking strong objections to his remarks targeting Gandhi and seeking an explanation from him.
Hegde's comments had irked the ruling party's top leadership, with speculation rife that he may be forced to tender an apology.
Top sources in the government said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his dismay at Hegde's comments and that the MP is likely not to be allowed to attend the parliamentary party meetings for the rest of the Budget Session.
Sources earlier in the day said that Hegde's swipe at Gandhi has irked the top party leadership and he may be forced to apologise.
A senior BJP leader said the Karnataka leader, a sixth-term Lok Sabha MP, has been asked to take remedial measures, including tendering an apology. The party will take its next course of action after receiving his reply, he added.
At a public event, the six-time MP from Uttara Kannada said the independence movement was staged with the consent and support of the British.
“None of these so-called leaders were beaten by the police with batons even once. Their independence movement was one big drama," he had said.
The Karnataka BJP distanced itself from Hegde’s statements, saying it doesn’t approve of what he has said. State BJP spokesperson G Madhusudhan said the RSS holds Mahatma Gandhi in high esteem and won’t support such “cheap” remarks.
A senior BJP leader said the comments were "condemnable" and the party leadership is upset with him.
"The party has conveyed its displeasure to him and asked him to take remedial measure. Any insult to Mahatma Gandhi is unacceptable," he said.
Hegde had also ridiculed Gandhi's hunger strikes and satyagraha, terming them as “drama”.
"These Congress people keep saying that we got independence because of the fast unto death or satyagraha. That is not true. The British did not leave India because of satyagraha,” he had said.
The MP also said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological mentor, had nothing to do with Gandhi’s assassination.
Congress demands apology from PM Modi
Hitting out at the BJP, the Congress demanded an apology from PM Modi.
At a party briefing, Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma said it was time for Modi to show whether his loyalty was with Gandhi or with his assassin Nathuram Godse.
"They are disparaging the national movement. If the prime minister and the BJP government are sincere about the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi, we demand that the PM come to Parliament and clarify his position," Sharma said. "They are desperate for elections and only to get some votes, they are inflicting deep wounds on the soul of India."
Demanding Hegde's expulsion from the BJP, Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said Modi should apologise for Hegde's remarks and a sedition case be lodged against the former Union minister.
Incidentally, this is not the first time a show cause notice has been issued to Hegde. He and Pragya Thakur were served show cause notices by the BJP leadership for their praise of Godse during the 2019 Lok Sabha poll campaign.
While the then BJP national president Amit Shah had condemned their remarks and announced action against them, the party never made any official comment about the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings.
However, the BJP had barred Thakur from attending its weekly parliamentary meeting during Parliament's last session after she praised Godse yet again.
Both Hegde and Thakur were elected to the Lok Sabha.
(With inputs from PTI)
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