Explained: The Congress' many flip-flops on VD Savarkar

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took fresh aim at Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar, saying that he helped the British and wrote a mercy petition to them out of fear.

Addressing a press conference at Wadegaon in Akola district, Rahul  showed documents dating back to 1920 from the government records to media persons, claiming that they contained a letter written by Savarkar to the British.

“I will read the last line, which says ‘I beg to remain your most obedient servant’ and is signed V D Savarkar, which shows he helped the British,” Rahul said at the media interaction during his Bharat Jodo Yatra foot march which is in the last leg in Maharashtra.

He said he was of the view that Savarkar signed the letter out of fear and in doing so, he betrayed Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders of the freedom struggle.

Rahul on Tuesday, addressing a rally in Washim district as part of his yatra, called Savarkar a symbol of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

“He was jailed in Andaman for two-three years. He started writing mercy petitions,” the Congress MP said.

Savarkar’s grandson on Thursday lodged a police complaint against Rahul in Mumbai for “insulting" his grandfather.

Meanwhile, the BJP on Thursday countered Rahul Gandhi’s attacks by pointing to remarks made by his grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi who praised VD Savarkar’s ‘daring defiance of the British’.

But what has the Congress said about Savarkar in the past?

Let’s take a closer look:

Congress handle takes dig at Savarkar

In November 2021, when actor Kangana Ranaut caused a stir for her remarks that India attained freedom in 2014 and what it got in 1947 was “alms”, the Congress handle responded by tweeting, “Those who fought bravely got independence in 1947 and those who begged got forgiveness.”

जिन लोगों ने भीख मांगी, उन्हें माफी मिली; जो लोग बहादुरी से लड़े, उन्हें आज़ादी मिली।

— Congress (@INCIndia) November 11, 2021

The party Twitter handle was taking a dig at Savarkar’s petitions to the British.

Savarkar and his brother spent time in jail between 1911 and 1920, during which Savarkar reportedly wrote to the British at least seven times.

Critics of Savarkar cite these letters to criticise him for allegedly apologising to the British. However, Savarkar’s supporters contend he did not write any such petitions and even if he did, he was not seeking clemency.

‘Not Rahul Savarkar’

In December 2019, Rahul took a dig at Savarkar after kicking up a storm with his ‘rape in India’ remarks.

Rahul, launching a scathing attack on Narendra Modi over crimes against women, said that the prime minister had launched ‘Make in India’ but nowadays it is ‘Rape in India’.

After the BJP demanded an apology, Rahul said, “My name is Rahul Gandhi, not Rahul Savarkar.”

“I will never apologise for speaking truth and nor will any Congressman do so. It is Narendra Modi and his assistant Amit Shah who has to apologise to the country for destroying India’s economy.”

Confusion in Congress in 2019

In 2019, the Congress found itself conflicted when the BJP Maharashtra unit vowed to ask the party-led NDA government at the Centre to confer the Bharat Ratna on Savarkar if it was re-elected.

Congress spokesman Manish Tewari at the time, comparing Savarkar to Godse, said the BJP-led government needs to seriously think about the path it wants to take on the issue in the 150th year of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday.

“Savarkar? Why not Mr Godse, after all Mr Savarkar was only an accused in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, and Mr Godse  was convicted. So, therefore, in the 150th year of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth, if the NDA-BJP government is going to honour somebody who was tried for Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination…and ultimately in 1969, when the Kapur commission was set up it found that possibly, he (Savarkar)and some of his other colleagues had prior knowledge of the events that took place on 30 January, 1948,” Tewari said.

“And If all that is correct then government needs to seriously think as to what path they are going.”

However, senior Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi  praised Savarkar as an “accomplished man” who played a part in the freedom struggle, fought for Dalit rights and went to jail for the country.

Singhvi though added that he does not subscribe to Savarkar’s ideology.

“I personally don’t subscribe to Savarkar’s ideology but that doesn’t take away the fact that he was an accomplished man” who played part in the freedom struggle, fought for Dalit rights and went to jail for the country," the Rajya Sabha MP tweeted with the hashtag ’never forget’.

That came after former prime minister Manmohan Singh, at a press conference in Mumbai, had said, “We are not against Savarkar ji, but we are not in favour of the Hindutva ideology that Savarkar ji patronised and stood for either.”

Manmohan had noted that Indira Gandhi as prime minister issued a postal stamp in Savarkar’s memory.

As per News18, Indira Gandhi issued a stamp in Savarkar’s honour after his death in 1966.

She even got a documentary film on Savarkar made through the government’s Information and Broadcasting ministry.

Indira Gandhi further gave a personal grant of Rs 11,000 to the Savarkar memorial in Mumbai.

Mani Shankar Aiyar slams Savarkar repeatedly

Mani Shankar Aiyas has hit out at Savarkar repeatedly.

In 2018, Aiyar had claimed Savarkar was the first proponent of two-nation theory and that he invented the term “Hindutva” to create religious divide in society.

Aiyar at the time had been suspended from the party’s primary membership and slapped a show-cause notice on him for his “neech” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi which had mushroomed into a massive controversy just ahead of Gujarat polls.

“Situation in India is an abhorrent one. In 1923, a man called VD Savarkar in his book invented a word which doesn’t exist in any religious text, ‘Hindutva’. So, first proponent of two-nation theory was ideological guru of those who are currently in power in India,” Aiyar said at an event in Lahore.

His remark also came in the backdrop of Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s portrait at the Aligarh Muslim University sparking off a row.

However, the Congress had distanced itself from Aiyar’s remark.

Aiyar in 2013, ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls, said that despite the Congress opposing installation of Savarkar’s portrait in the Central Hall of Parliament, it won the Maharashtra Assembly polls in 2008.

“Savarkar is no issue," he said.

The Congress-led UPA at the time attempted to cast Aiyar’s remarks as his own opinion with  then parliamentary affairs minister Ghulam Nabi Azad saying, “It is his (Aiyer’s) personal opinion, we do not agree with what he said about Veer Savarkar,” said Azad.

As per The Times of India, Aiyar in 2004 compared Savarkar to Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

The then minister for petroleum and panchayati raj under the UPA regime caused a blazing row with his remarks and his move to remove Savarkarar’s name and quote from a memorial in Port Blair.

I stand by my remarks against Savarkar. Whatever I said was based on documents and his speeches during the freedom movement,” he told reporters.

“I have several authentic documents and one of the documents I found from archives clearly established the fact that Savarkar described the Quit India movement as the split India movement. I have never shown any disrespect for him. I just mentioned the facts,” Aiyar added.

Congress slams Savarkar in 2016, gets defamation notice

The Congress on its Twitter handle in 2016 called Savarkar a “traitor”.

One of the tweets, put out on March 23, the death anniversary of Bhagat Singh, read: “Bhagat Singh waged war for Freedom from British Raj, VD Savarkar begged for mercy, to be a slave in British Raj.

That resulted in the grandnephew of Savarkar sending a notice to the Congress party including Rahul and Sonia alleging that the tweets posted were defamatory to the RSS ideologue.

Savarkar’s grandnephew Ranjit sought an ‘unconditional apology’ from the Congress on the same Twitter space within 48 hours.

‘Great tragedy’

In 2003, Sonia Gandhi had written to then president APJ Abdul Kalam, urging him not to unveil a portrait of Savarkar in the central hall of Parliament.

“It will be a great tragedy if the Central Hall of Parliament is utilised for installing a portrait of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who was not only accused in the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case, but supported the two-nation theory of Jinnah,” she wrote.

However, that did not stop Kalam from unveiling the portrait.

With inputs from agencies

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