Savarkar row: Raut's caution as Maharashtra Cong chief defends Rahul

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said V D Savarkar, Jawaharlal Nehru or any other freedom fighter should not be maligned as they do not belong to any political party.

Nana Patole, chief of the Maharashtra unit of the Congress, however, aggressively defended party leader Rahul Gandhi elsewhere and said those slamming Gandhi must explain why Savarkar was getting pension from the British.

The ruling BJP, seeking to corner the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, asked it to sever its Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance with the Congress over the criticism of the Hindutva ideologue by Rahul Gandhi.

Raut had made it clear a day earlier that the Thackeray-led Sena did not approve of Rahul Gandhi's controversial comments about Savarkar and it could lead to cracks in the MVA alliance which also includes the NCP.

"Attempts to besmirch the reputations of both Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Savarkar must stop. Freedom fighters who made sacrifices for the country's independence do not belong to any ideology or political party," Raut, a Rajya Sabha member, told reporters on Saturday.

"Just because someone badmouths Savarkar, it doesn't mean you speak negatively about Nehru," the Sena leader added.

Rahul Gandhi kicked up a row earlier this week during the Maharashtra leg of his Bharat Jodo Yatra by claiming that Savarkar had helped the British and wrote a mercy petition to them out of fear.

"Those who criticised Rahul Gandhi for his comments on Savarkar should first reply why the latter was getting a pension of Rs 60 from the British," Patole told reporters on Saturday.

His party wanted an ideological debate, he said, adding that the Congress believed in non-violence.

Union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Raosaheb Danve demanded that Uddhav Thackeray must end his alliance with the Congress.

"(Shiv Sena founder) Balasaheb Thackeray spread the message of Swatantryaveer Savarkar across Maharashtra, and now his son and grandson are with a party that insults the freedom fighter," Danve told reporters in Jalna.