Nathuram Godse should have killed Nehru, not Gandhi: Kerala RSS mouthpiece

Bangalore, Oct 25: Kerala

unit's mouthpiece Kesari recently sparked a controversy by opining that Nathuram Vinayak Godse, the man who had assassinated

on January 30, 1948, should have targetted India's first prime minister

instead.

According to a report published in the News Minute, the article written by B Gopalakrishnan, a BJP leader who contested in Chalakudy Lok Sabha constituency and was published on October 17, accused Nehru of having pursued selfish politics during the time of Partition.

"Nehru's selfish politics was behind national tragedies like partition and Gandhi murder. After evaluating Nathuram Godse's arguments in the light of historical documents related to partition, if history students feel Godse aimed the wrong target, they cannot be blamed. Nehru was solely responsible for the partition of the country," the article said, according to the News Minute report.

According to the author, Godse was a better person than Nehru because he says that Nehru killed Gandhi psychologically. He further adds in his article that during the end of the partition process Nehru had effectively expelled Gandhiji from last round talks with the British. Nehru just wanted Gandhiji's Khadar and his cap as a symbol for the party. Nehru sidelined him and tried to prove that Gandhi had no influence in the Congress, says the article.

"Godse pulled the trigger on Gandhiji's chest after a respectful bow. It was unlike Nehru who stabbed Gandhiji from behind and greeted him from front," the report quoted the author quoted as saying.

The Congress slammed the article in Kesari saying the RSS was trying to distort history. Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala asked the state police to see if steps could be taken against the magazine, the report said. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief VM Sudheeran said efforts were being made relentlessly to glorify hardcore Hindutva ideologues after the Narendra Modi government came to power at the Centre earlier this year.

The RSS's article came close on the heels of Prime Minister Modi's decision to reconstitute an organising committee for the 125 birth anniversary celebration of Nehru on November 14. According to political observers, the RSS expressed its strong reservation on the issue through the article.

Oneindia News