Shrikant Shinde refers to Indira Gandhi's letter to Savarkar, sparks heated exchanges

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha turned into a battleground on Friday when Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde invoked a letter written by former prime minister Indira Gandhi praising V D Savarkar, sparking a fiery debate involving the treasury bench and Congress members.

Referring to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's critical comments earlier on Savarkar, Shinde questioned the Congress' repeated criticism of the freedom fighter.

Shinde read out from Indira Gandhi's letter, stating, "Veer Savarkar's daring defiance of the British Government has its own importance in the annals of our freedom movement. I wish success to the plans to celebrate the birth centenary of this remarkable son of India."

Shinde then posed a pointed question to Rahul Gandhi, "Was your grandmother, Indira Gandhi, also against the Constitution in praising Savarkar? We take pride in Savarkar ji and his contribution to the nation."

The remarks led to an uproar as Rahul Gandhi stood up, seeking to respond. However, Shinde refused to yield, prompting Congress MPs to storm the Well of the House, demanding that Rahul Gandhi be allowed to speak.

Despite the chaos, Krishna Prasad Tenneti, who was in the Chair, ruled that Gandhi would be allowed to respond only after Shinde concluded his speech.

Shinde also accused the Congress leader of speaking on everything except Constitutional matters.

"Rahul ji has talked about everything except the Constitution. But he forgot that in 1984, the Congress was responsible for non-stop violence against Sikh brothers. In 1964, 1,070 communal riots occurred during the Congress rule. Remember how bullets were fired at 'kar sevaks' and the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts took place under their tenure. In the last 10 years, not a single bomb blast has happened in the country," he said.

Amidst the chaos, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey claimed that "Indira Gandhi had even funded Savarkar's trust. The Congress should stop spreading lies. Rahul Gandhi can never be Savarkar."

Later, Rahul Gandhi said, "I had asked Indira Gandhi ji about her views on Savarkar, and she said, 'Savarkar apologized to the British... Gandhi ji went to jail, Nehru ji went to jail, but Savarkar ji sought forgiveness'".