"Mahatma Gandhi Asked Savarkar To File Mercy Petitions": Rajnath Singh
NDTV
Talking about Veer Savarkar as a freedom fighter, Rajnath Singh said his commitment for freedom was so strong that the British sentenced him to life imprisonment twice.
Hailing Veer Savarkar as a staunch nationalist and India's first military strategist in the 20th century, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said it was on Mahatma Gandhi's request that he wrote mercy petitions to the British and people from the Marxist and Leninist ideology wrongly accuse him as a fascist. #WATCH | Lies were spread about Savarkar. Time & again, it was said that he filed mercy petitions before British Govt seeking his release from jail... It was Mahatma Gandhi who asked him to file mercy petitions: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at launch of a book on Savarkar y'day pic.twitter.com/Pov4mI0Ieg
He described Savarkar as a "national icon" at an event to release a book on him and said he gave the country a "robust defence and diplomatic doctrine".
"He was an icon of the Indian history and will remain so. There can be a difference of opinion about him, but to look down on him as inferior is not appropriate and justifiable. He was a freedom fighter and a staunch nationalist, but people who follow the Marxist and Leninist ideology are the ones who accuse Savarkar of being a fascist...," Mr Singh said, adding that the hatred towards Savarkar is illogical and unplaced.
Talking about Savarkar as a freedom fighter, he said his commitment for freedom was so strong that the British sentenced him to life imprisonment twice.
