"Ask Rahul Gandhi to praise Savarkar, Balasaheb": Amit Shah's jibe at Uddhav Thackeray
Mumbai: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday hit out at Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party for "insulting" Veer Savarkar.
He challenged Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray to ask Rahul Gandhi to praise Savarkar and Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
"I want to ask Uddhav Thackeray from this stage. Can he ask Rahul Gandhi to say something good about Veer Savarkar? Can any Congress leader speak something to honour Balasaheb Thackeray? This is an internal (ideological) difference. People of Maharashtra should take note of such contradictions in the MVA alliance," Shah said while addressing an election rally in Mumbai.
Shah also accused Rahul Gandhi of insulting the Constitution and Babasaheb Ambedkar.
"When a friend from the media (a media person) opened the cover of the Constitution that Rahul Gandhi was waving and reminding the Parliament about Babasaheb Ambedkar's resolves, there was nothing inside. There cannot be a bigger insult than this of the Indian Constitution. This is also an insult to the Constituent Assembly and Babasaheb Ambedkar," he said.
Attacking Congress party further, he accused the party of indulging in 'appeasement politics' by readily accepting the demands by Ulema that reservations be given to Muslim minorities.
"Congress leader Nana Patole has given an acknowledgement letter accepting such demands. I want to ask the people of Maharashtra, are you fine with this? Are the people of Maharashtra fine with this idea of giving reservations that belong to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and OBCs to Muslims? Our constitution does not allow reservation on the basis of religion. But Congress has promised this even before coming to power. I want to warn the people of Maharashtra to take note of this," the Home Minister said.
Notably, in 2023, Rahul Gandhi had made remarks against Savarkar calling him a "coward" for which he was made party in a defamation case filed by Savarkar's kin.
Shah also took a dig at Uddhav Thackeray and said, "Uddhav ji, I can't decide where you sit. But I want to tell you that you're sitting with those who opposed the abrogation of Article 370. You're sitting with those who opposed the construction of Ram Janambhoomi temple. You're sitting with those who speak ill of Savarkar. You're sitting with those who opposed CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and UCC (Uniform Civil Code)."
Amit Shah launched the Sankalp Patra (manifesto) of BJP offering 25 guarantees. He was accompanied by various senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders including Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who said that through this manifesto PM Modi's visions are being realised in Maharashtra.
The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with votes for all 288 constituencies to be counted on November 23.
The opposition MVA coalition, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (SCP), seeks to reclaim power in the state, challenging the Mahayuti alliance, which includes Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
