As Rahul remarks fan Savarkar heat, Maharashtra Cong fears will be singed

RAHUL Gandhi may have gone ahead with his remarks on Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar during the Maharashtra leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) despite strong advice against it by the Congress state leadership.

Supporters of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde protest against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his controversial remarks about Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, in Thane.

According to sources within the Congress, Rahul was advised by three senior party leaders to avoid mentioning Savarkar’s controversial mercy petition issue during his speeches in Maharashtra. “One of the concerns was the reaction of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena. The state unit’s leaders wanted to avoid controversy, and asked Rahul to focus only on issues of unemployment, inflation and agrarian crisis,” an insider told The Indian Express.

Opinion |Girish Kuber writes: Both Congress in criticising him, and BJP in owning him, take a partial and blinkered view of VD Savarkar “Despite the advice, that Rahul chose to rake up the Savarkar issue, that too with documents and, at a press conference, shows that he was prepared to attack,” said an AICC leader, while pointing out that there has never been any ambiguity regarding Rahul’s stand on Savarkar, even when the Maha Vikas Aghadi was formed with the Shiv Sena and NCP.Read More on..