RaGa Agrees to Advice of Pawar; Not to Rake up Savarkar

New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar stepped in as mediator after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remark on VD Savarkar sparked a rift in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra, reported India Today. Agreeing with the advice of Sharad Pawar, Rahul Gandhi assured Sanjay Raut that he would avoid raking up references to Savarkar.

After getting disqualified from the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said, “My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone”.

The remark was criticized by the Shiv Sena (UBT). Its party head Uddhav Thackeray said he considered Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar as his “idol”, and asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to refrain from “insulting” him.

The Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena did not attend the meeting of opposition leaders convened by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday as a mark of protest against Rahul Gandhi’s remarks targeting Savarkar.

On Tuesday, Veer Savarkar’s grandson Ranjit Savarkar had urged Pawar to advise Rahul Gandhi to refrain from making comments of Veer Savarkar. To avoid the widening of the rift in the alliance in Maharashtra, NCP leader Sharad Pawar stepped in as peacemaker. According to sources, Sharad Pawar advised Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi regarding the Savarkar issue during the Opposition meeting on Monday.

Sources added that Rahul Gandhi assured that he would avoid making references to VD Savarkar.