Ahead of the 78th Independence Day celebrations on August 15, Tiranga Yatras are being organised nationwide. However, a controversy erupted during one such event in Sangani village, Surendranagar district, Gujarat. Congress leaders halted the participating students, objecting to their saffron-coloured T-shirts and claiming they promoted RSS leader Veer Savarkar. The leaders reportedly demanded that the students remove the T-shirts.
The Congress leaders also made negative comments and repeated false claims about Savarkar, including the unfounded accusation that he was involved in Mahatma Gandhi’s murder, which has been repeatedly busted.
After the incident, Harsh Sanghvi, the Minister of State for Home Affairs in Gujarat, announced that the Congress leaders involved had been charged with insulting freedom fighters. He also stated that those seen in the video are not in a position to judge the patriotism of Veer Savarkar and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
The Congress or the leaders seen in the video are not worthy of certifying the patriotism of Veer Savarkar Ji & Netaji
Snatching T-shirts from the young children participating in the Tiranga Yatra in Surendranagar is highly condemnable.
Today, those who insulted Veer Savarkar… https://t.co/TRCoXG6jMJ
— Harsh Sanghavi (@sanghaviharsh) August 14, 2024
On August 14, the local Congress party was holding a Nyay Yatra when it passed by the students’ Tiranga Yatra. They caused a commotion and stopped the students, claiming that the school uniforms were being overshadowed by the T-shirts, which they said promoted VD Savarkar, whom they called an ‘RSS person’. They also repeated false accusations about his involvement in Mahatma Gandhi’s murder. Meanwhile, the video of the incident is now being shown on social media.
In the viral video, some Congress leaders are seen stopping the students from participating in the Tiranga Yatra and complaining about their T-shirts. One person can be heard saying, “School dress is being suppressed and they are walking around with images of RSS’ Savarkar, that’s not right.”
He then asked the children, “You decide if we should wear pictures of Gandhi Bapu or Savarkar.” The children responded by saying, “Gandhi Bapu.”
A party leader was also heard harassing the teachers and principal of Sangani School for letting students wear T-shirts with images of Veer Savarkar. He claimed that Savarkar was involved in Mahatma Gandhi’s murder. Later, Congress leaders asked the students to remove the t-shirts, and the children complied.
During the incident, Lalji Desai, the National President (Chief Organiser) of Congress Sevadal, asked, “If they give you a T-shirt with Godse or Dawood on it tomorrow, will you let them wear that?”
The Congress leaders complained that Gandhi and Sardar Patel were being overlooked while Savarkar was being given prominence. However, in the video, many Congress leaders wore T-shirts promoting the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra,’ without images of Gandhi or Sardar Patel. Some police officers were also visible in the footage.
Harsh Sanghvi, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, announced that the Congress leaders had been charged under sections 126(2), 189(3), 221, 197(C)(D), 352, and 353 of the Indian Penal Code for insulting Veer Savarkar and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
