Slamming Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over his comment that "on Mahatma Gandhi's request, Savarkar wrote mercy petitions to the British", All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party will soon declare Vinayak Damodar Savarkar as 'the father of the nation'.

"They (BJP) are presenting distorted history. If this continues, they will remove Mahatma Gandhi and make Savarkar, who was accused of the murder of Mahatma Gandhi and was pronounced complicit in the inquiry of Justice Jeevan Lal Kapur, as the father of the nation," he said.

On Tuesday, Singh said that it was on Mahatma Gandhi's request that Savarkar wrote mercy petitions to the British.

He was speaking at the launch of the book 'Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition'.

"Lies were spread about Savarkar. Time and again, it was said that he filed mercy petitions before the British government seeking his release from jail. It was Mahatma Gandhi who asked him to file mercy petitions," Singh said at the event.