Kapil Mishra targets Rahul Gandhi over surname, Savarkar remark

Mishra said that a leader instills energy and positivity among people and this is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing.

Targeting former Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his 'I am not Savarkar' remark, BJP leader Kapil Mishra on Sunday said that he can never be like the freedom fighter who was a patriot.

Mr. Mishra also said that Congress leaders once questioned the existence of Lord Ram while living in big houses but today when Lord Ram's magnificent temple is ready, they "are losing their bungalow".

“The biggest lie was told just a few days back that 'I am Gandhi and not Savarkar'... You are not even a real Gandhi and you cannot be Savarkar because the first condition of being a Savarkar is to be a patriot and to have unshakable faith in the nation of 'Akhand Sanatan Bharat',” Mr. Mishra said.

"Just as a trader based in Moradabad puts up a board saying 'Agra ka petha is made here', a board in the name of 'Gandhi' has been put so that their business keeps on running," the BJP leader said.

He was speaking at a session on Sanatan Sanskriti and Hindutva organised by Navonmesh Foundation here.

Responding to a query in a press conference on repeated calls by the BJP asking him to apologise over various issues, Rahul Gandhi had said a few days back, “My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone.” He was referring to Hindutva idealogue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Mr. Mishra, who had courted controversy for allegedly making inflammatory speeches ahead of the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, also targeted the Congress over the Ayodhya Ram temple.