MUMBAI: A Nashik chief of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday threatened to blacken Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s face for allegedly insulting Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on his subsequent go to to the town.
Chief of Opposition within the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi (AICC/ANI)
“Rahul Gandhi used abusive language for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, and the case is filed against him in Nashik. We will not tolerate Savarkar’s insult,” Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Nashik metropolis unit deputy chief Bala Darade mentioned on the sidelines of a operate to mark VD Savarkar’s beginning anniversary on Wednesday.
“Rahul Gandhi will soon need to visit Nashik to appear before the court in this case. When he comes, we will blacken Rahul Gandhi’s face, and if we can’t reach there, we will throw stones at him,” the Sena chief mentioned.
One of many instances that Rahul Gandhi faces for his feedback on Savarkar is in Nashik, the place a resident filed a case towards him.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal mentioned Congress won’t tolerate such language for Rahul Gandhi. “Rahul Gandhi did not use any abusive words for Savarkar but only quoted some facts. We will not tolerate such threats to him,” mentioned Sapkal.
Atul Londhe, spokesperson of the Congress’s state unit, mentioned Darade’s remarks had been a part of a conspiracy engineered by the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP), including that he hoped Uddhav Thackeray would act towards Darade, who had crossed the road to assault the chief of an alliance accomplice.
Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sushma Andhare distanced the social gathering from Darade’s feedback. Andhare informed reporters that Darade’s views had been his personal and never the official stand of the Uddhav Thackeray-led social gathering.
However the Thackeray-led Sena has lengthy been uncomfortable over Gandhi’s repeated assaults on Savarkar.
On December 17, 2024, Aaditya Thackeray referred to as for transferring past debates on historic figures and specializing in urgent developmental points. “The BJP and Congress must stop wasting time discussing Nehru and Savarkar,” he mentioned, asserting that each leaders made their contribution to historical past and the nation wanted to give attention to improvement.