Maharashtra, India: Freedom fighter Veer Savarkar’s grandnephew Satyaki Savarkar has filed a criminal defamation complaint against Congress leader and former MP Rahul Gandhi for his ‘false, malicious and wild’ allegations against Savarkar in an event in London and hurt sentiments of Savarkar’s family members and near relatives before a Pune Court.
Satyaki Savarkar alleged that Rahul Gandhi called Savarkar a ‘coward’ and that he, along with his friends, beat a Muslim person and felt delighted. He submitted, before a Pune Court of Judicial Magistrate of First Class, that Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly defamed and abused Savarkar on various occasions over many years.
Furthermore, he submitted that Rahul Gandhi made the comments against Savarkar deliberately causing defamation of the freedom fighter, in turn, hurt the sentiments of Savarkar’s family members and near relatives. Furthermore, he alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s comments would spark communal tensions between the two religions.
Rahul Gandhi’s statement, as stated in the complaint, reads, “If he is weaker than me, I will beat him up with 5-10 of my friends! But if he is stronger than RSS people then I will run away! Savarkar has written in his book, if you have read his book, it is written in it that one day he and his 5-6 friends beat up a Muslim man and on that day he felt very happy….”
Satyaki Savarkar alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s allegations against Savarkar are false and baseless to his knowledge and that there is no evidence of the such incident. Furthermore, he alleged that Rahul Gandhi has not brought any material on record to support his allegations.
“The Accused has thus stated that Veer Savarkar was a coward and he along with his friends beat one Muslim person and felt delighted about the act done by them. It is submitted that the said statement is false to the knowledge of the Accused, who also falsely claims that such incident is mentioned in a book written by Veer Savarkar and the Accused also claims to have read such book,” as stated in the complaint.
Furthermore, the complaint states, “It is reiterated that no such incident is narrated by Veer Savarkar in any of his writings and the said defamatory statement is made by the Accused knowing the same to be false. hence, the said Defamatory statement is not made in good faith.”
Ranjit Savarkar threatens FIR against Rahul Gandhi for his anti-Savarkar remarks
On March 25, Rahul Gandhi said “My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi. Gandhi does not apologise to anyone,” while answering a question during his press conference after being disqualified from Lok Sabha following his conviction in ‘Modi’ surname defamation case.
On March 28, Veer Savarkar’s grandson Ranjit Savarkar threatened to file an FIR against former Congress MP Rahul Gandhi if he does not apologise for his statements against Savarkar.
Ranjit Savarkar said, “I will file an FIR against Rahul Gandhi if he does not apologise for his statement about Savarkar. This is not the first time that Rahul Gandhi or the Congress party has disrespected Veer Savarkar. It is unfortunate that instead of apologising, he continues to repeat this.”
“I had also asked Uddhav Thackeray to ask his alliance partner, especially Rahul Gandhi, to apologise for disrespecting Savarkar. When Uddhav Thackeray was the CM, a Congress mouthpiece made derogatory remarks against Veer Savarkar but he did nothing,” he added.
Furthermore, he said, “I have already filed two complaints against Rahul Gandhi in Dadar police station. Five years back, he had called VD Savarkar’ deshdrohi’. The court has asked the police station to send a notice to Rahul Gandhi over that and I am following it up. The second case was after his statements against Savarkar in the Bharat Jodo Yatra. This time also, I will file a complaint. We have to settle this issue so that Savarkar’s name is not maligned again and again. We have to do it through courts. Historically, there’s no proof that Savarkar had apologised before the British Raj.”
Rahul Gandhi’s insulted Savarkar during Bharat Jodo Yatra
It is pertinent to note that this is not the first time Rahul Gandhi or the Congress party has disrespected Veer Savarkar. In November 2022, a complaint was filed against Rahul Gandhi for making “derogatory remarks” against Savarkar as he alleged that Savarkar “helped the British” and “betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel,” while addressing the media during his Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Rahul Gandhi said “Veer Savarkar, in a letter written to the British, said “Sir, I beg to remain your most obedient servant” and signed on it. Savarkar helped the British. He betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel by signing the letter out of fear,” during his press conference in Maharashtra. He continued, “While he was lodged in Andaman jail, Savarkar wrote a letter to the British pleading with them that he be pardoned and released. He took a pension from the British and worked against Congress.”
In February, Congress MLC & Leader of Opposition for Karnataka’s Legislative Council BK Hariprasad, calls Veer Savarkar the “biggest coward the country has ever seen.” The Congress MLC continued to state that “what else should we call Savarkar who wrote mercy petitions and sought British pension.”
Rahul Gandhi’s anti-Savarkar remarks alienating ally Shiv Sena (UBT)
Last month, Uddhav Thackeray, the head of the Shiv Sena (UBT), pleaded with Rahul Gandhi, asking him not to get ‘provoked’ and insult Veer Savarkar as their first priority was to ‘save democracy’.
It is to be noted that Thackeray’s party, UBT and Sharad Pawar’s NCP is in coalition with Congress in Maharashtra. “I want to openly tell Rahul Gandhi that Savarkar is a God-like figure for us and we will not tolerate his insult…. We are together in the fight to save democracy. But do not make statements or take steps that will create fissures (between the Sena (UBT) and the Congress)”, Uddhav Thackeray said.
Sanjay Raut further added, “We object to the use of words like ‘mafiveer’ for Savarkar. By belittling the sacrifice of Savarkar in this manner, Rahul Gandhi is doing harm to himself and his image. Rahul Gandhi undertook Bharat Jodo Yatra and drew wide praise from across the country. And by insulting Savarkar, he is creating hatred among those who respect the Hindutva ideologue for what he did for the country.”
