'Savarkar Ate Non-Veg, Wasn't Against Cow Slaughter': Karnataka Minister's Remarks Draw BJP Ire

Karnataka Health Minister and Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao has prompted sharp reactions from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders with his ‘Veer Savarkar was not against cow slaughter and he was a non-vegetarian’ remark.

Addressing a book launch of the Kannada version of “Gandhi’s Assassin: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of India” by journalist Dhirendra K Jha in Bengaluru, Rao said, “If we can say with a discussion that Savarkar wins, that’s not right; he was a non-vegetarian eater, and he wasn’t against cow slaughter; he was a Chitpavan brahmin.”

“Savarkar was modernist in that way but his fundamental thinking was different. Some people said he used to eat beef and he was openly propagating eating beef, so that thinking is different. But Gandhiji had a lot of belief in Hinduism and was conservative in that but his actions were different because he was democratic in that way,” he said.

Rao’s comments irked BJP leaders, who said he had lost his mental balance and that people would stop taking him seriously if he continued spreading false facts about great personalities.

BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, “Such knowledge of these people proves that they have lost their mental balance. If they keep giving such wisdom, then society will not take them seriously. He should go to a mental institution to get better and gain knowledge about the great personalities of the country.”

Responding to the comments, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said, “They don’t know anything about Savarkar. They keep on attacking him for political gains. For Savarkar, cow was holy. Rahul Gandhi has started a campaign against Savarkar and other Congress leaders are taking it forward.”

‘How Long Will Uddhav Thackeray Keep Mum?’ Asks BJP

BJP’s Amit Malviya said Savarkar was a patriot. “No contemporary Congress leader even comes close to his clarity of thought and articulation. Least of all Dinesh Gundurao But the question really is : How long will Uddhav Thackeray continue to bear this humiliation of Veer Savarkar at the hands of Congress?” he asked.

BJP MP Anurag Thakur called Congress a “factory of lies” as he warned that India won’t tolerate any disrespect towards Savarkar.

“By disrespecting Veer Savarkar they have shown that they don’t respect freedom fighters. During the Congress government, Sardar Bhagat Singh was termed a separatist in textbooks…By making those who want to break the nation join the congress party, Rahul Gandhi is taking forward the ideology of ‘tukde tukde’ and he is a ‘modern Jinnah’ who speaks ill of the country abroad…,” he said.

A court in Maharashtra’s Nashik district summoned Congress MP Rahul Gandhi earlier this week in a defamation case filed against him for his alleged objectionable remarks against the Hindutva ideologue.

The complainant, who is the director of an NGO, claimed he watched a press conference addressed by Gandhi in Hingoli and also a speech made by the Congress leader in November 2022. He alleged that Gandhi, on the two occasions, by his words and visual representations knowingly harmed the reputation of Veer Savarkar and also tried to defame the latter’s image in the society. According to the complainant, Gandhi said “Savarkar is BJP and RSS jin” which was defamatory.

(With inputs from ANI, PTI)