'Savarkar ate non-veg, wasn't against cow slaughter': Karnataka minister D Gundu Rao's remarks draw BJP, grandson's fire

Congress leader and Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has sparked a huge controversy after claiming that Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was himself a non-vegetarian and was not against cow slaughter, PTI reported on Thursday.

“Savarkar was a non-veg eater and he was not against cow slaughter. As a Brahmin, he consumed meat and openly promoted eating meat,” PTI quoted the Karnataka minister as speaking at 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.

"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,” the minister added .

Amid the ongoing controversy, Rao further said, “It was a discussion on Mahatma Gandhi's assassination and it was a very healthy discussion that we had, and it was basically the observations of contrast between Mahatma Gandhi and Savarkar.”

BJP hits back

Reacting to the controversial remarks by the Congress minister, senior BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that people in Congress don't know anything about Savarkar and only insult him.

“These people do not know anything about Savarkar. The insult him again and again. Savarkar has expressed his opinion on cows very well. He had said that since the birth to death of a farmer, cows have helped him. So, cows have been given the status of God. Rahul Gandhi started the series of making such false statements on Savarkar, and I think they are trying to take it forward,” ANI quoted Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister as saying.

BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also slammed the Karnataka Minister for his controversial statement, "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," Naqvi said.

Karnataka Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said, “I think the Congress party—from Delhi to Karnataka—has decided to threaten Hindus and Hindu gods. Now, they are threatening freedom fighters. Savarkar was a freedom fighter; he was in jail in Andaman and Nicobar... I think the mindset of the people of Congress is always to threaten Hindus.”

"Karnataka will teach you a lesson; every Hindu will teach you a lesson," he added.

Reacting to the controversial remark, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam said, “I want to tell the Congress and threaten them that the people of Maharashtra love Savarkar ji very much and if they keep insulting him like this again and again, then the people of Maharashtra will bury the Congress party in the ground, so the Congress party should stop insulting Savarkar.”

Ranjit Savarkar, grandson of VD Savarkar

Reacting sharply to the Karnataka Minister's remark, Ranjit Savarkar, grandson of Savarkar, said that it was Congress's strategy to defame Savarkar, especially when elections were at the door. 

"This is a strategy of Congress to defame Savarkar time and again, particularly when elections are coming. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi was doing it and now his leaders are making statements... Congress has shown its real face now. Congress wants to divide Hindu society between castes and win elections. This is like the Britisher's policy of divide and rule," ANI quoted Ranjit Savarkar as saying.