Mumbai: Spelling fresh troubles for Rahul Gandhi, the grandson of V.D. Savarkar has now demanded an apology from the disqualified Congress MP besides threatening to file an FIR against him for his remarks on the late Hindutva ideologue.
"My name is not Savarkar, I won't apologise," Rahul Gandhi had said after he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha following his conviction by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case.
Savarkar's grandson Ranjit Savarkar, who's the Chairman of the Swatantryaveer Savarkar Rashtriya Smarak, said that if Rahul Gandhi fails to apologise for his comments, he would lodge a police complaint against the Congress leader.
"He (Rahul Gandhi) must prove that Swatantryaveer Savarkar had apologised to the British for his release from the cellular jail in the Andaman Islands... I have done it (filing FIR) in the past, I shall do it again," an agitated Ranjit Savarkar told mediapersons.
Rahul Gandhi had made the controversial statement a day after he was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member following a Surat court slapping a two-year jail term on him in the defamation case.
Taking strong umbrage, Ranjit Savarkar also urged ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar to speak to Rahul Gandhi and ask him to tender an apology.
Not satisfied with Thackeray and Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut flaying the Congress leader in the past couple of days for his remarks, Ranjit Savarkar demanded that "they must ask Gandhi to apologise for his statements on Swatantryaveer Savarkar".
Ranjit Savarkar also pointed out how when he was the CM in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which aslo included the NCP and the Congress, Thackeray reportedly took no action when an objectionable article appeared in a Congress publication, 'Shidori'.
"At that time, I had demanded that Thackeray should act in the matter, but I got no reply to my letter, nor was any action taken," he said.
The ruling Shiv Sena-BJP coalition in Maharashtra has slammed Rahul Gandhi for his remarks, while the Sena (UBT) tto has castigated the Congress leader in strong terms.
Besides, some leaders of the NCP-Congress have also expressed their reservations on the issue that could have ramifications on the future of the MVA alliance, though senior Sena (UBT) and Congress leaders have assured that it will not be affected, even as Raut and Thackeray are likely to meet Rahul Gandhi soon to register their displeasure over his Savarkar remarks.
—IANS