Maharashtra Home Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday condemned the statements made against Mahatma Gandhi by Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide.
“I strongly condemn statements made by Sambhaji Bhide. Mahatma Gandhi is the Father of the Nation and a great hero in India’s Independence struggle. It is wholly inappropriate to utter these remarks against such a great man. The people are bound to get angry and will never tolerate if one makes such remarks against Mahatma Gandhi,” Mr. Fadnavis, who is also the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, said.
Stating that the government will take all necessary action in this regard, Mr. Fadnavis, at the same time, stressed that the government “will not tolerate anyone making inappropriate remarks against either Mahatma Gandhi or Veer Savarkar” (Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar).
Ruling government Ministers — Chhagan Bhujbal, from the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction, and Deepak Kesarkar of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena camp — also demanded stern action against Mr. Bhide.
“Even to be politically associated with him [Sambhaji Bhide] is dangerous. If he speaks in this manner against Gandhi, will anyone in Gujarat tolerate him?” Mr. Bhujbal asked.
Mr. Kesarkar said that the Hindutva leader ought to stop commenting on political matters in the future.
“I know Sambhaji Bhide. He is known for his work on the forts of Maharashtra. He ought to refrain from making statements on political issues. I will personally tell him when I meet him that such comments are hurtful not only for State but the country as well,” Mr. Kesarkar said.
Mr. Bhide, who heads the fringe Sangli-based outfit ‘Shiv Pratisthan’, was linked to the 2018 Bhima-Koregaon clashes.
Earlier, the Maharashtra Congress had sought Mr. Bhide’s arrest for his controversial remarks.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan had said that Mr. Bhide had been making controversial remarks designed to aggravate social tensions for several years now and demanded he be immediately booked under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, language, etc.) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Meanwhile, sources said that Mr. Chavan had received an e-mail threat from an alleged supporter of Mr. Bhide for demanding action against the Hindutva leader. Following this, security was beefed up outside the Congress leader’s residence in Karad in Satara district on Sunday.
