'Bharat Ratna For Godse': Congress' Dig At BJP For Demanding Bharat Ratna For Savarkar

Congress said BJP should demand Bharat Ratna for Nathuram Godse instead of Veer Savarkar.

Updated on: 17 October 2019 8:45 am

Congress leader Manish Tewari on Thursday took potshots at BJP for its demand to confer the Bharat Ratna on Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar.

In a tweet, Tewari said BJP should instead demand Bharat Ratna for Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi and was later hanged for the same.

"Why does NDA/BJP Government want to confer Bharath Ratna on Savarkar why not Godse? Former was only chargesheeted & later acquitted for assassination of Gandhi while latter was convicted & hanged.On his 150 th Anniv if you want to defile his memory then go the whole nine yards?" Tewari wrote on Twitter.

Why does NDA/BJP Government want to confer Bharath Ratna on Savarkar why not Godse? Former was only chargesheeted & later acquitted for assassination of Gandhi while latter was convicted & hanged.On his 150 th Anniv if you want to defile his memory then go the whole nine yards?
— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) October 17, 2019

The BJP in Maharashtra has been demanding Bharat Ratna for Savarkar. The demand has grown louder as the state assembly polls draw closer. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said he rued that Savarkar was not given with Bharat Ratna so far.

Later, the Congress took potshots at the BJP for its demand to confer the Bharat Ratna on Savarkar and sought to know why the saffron outfit was not seeking the country's highest civilian award for Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse.

Releasing its manifesto for the October 21 Maharashtra assembly elections on Tuesday, the state BJP raised the demand for Bharat Ratna for Savarkar along with 19th century social reformers Jyotiba Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule.

Asked about BJP leader and Union minister Ravishankar Prasad's statement attacking the Congress for opposing the demand for Bharat Ratna to Savarkar, Tewari posed a counter
a question to take on the saffron outfit on the issue.

"I would like to ask a counter question - Why Mr Savarkar?, Why not Mr Godse, after all, Mr Savarkar was only an accused in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, and Mr Godse
was convicted.