Bharat Ratna for man who justified rape: Mufti on Savarkar row

Srinagar, Oct 17: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party over their 'Maha manifesto' that promised Bharat Ratna for Savarkar.

"Bharat Ratna for a man who justified rape as a weapon of war," Mehbooba Mufti said in a tweet.

"You know a country needs to reset its moral compass when the likes of Savarkar are feted whereas a great man like Gandhiji is disrespected," she added.

The Maharashtra BJP in its manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections has promised to confer the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

The announcement has evoked a sharp criticism from the Opposition Party leaders.

Hitting out at the BJP for mooting Bharat Ratna award for Hindutva idealogue V D Savarkar, the Congress on Tuesday said that if the government considers it on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, then "God save this country".

"In a country where Mahatma Gandhi is being made to commit suicide in examinations, anything is possible," Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said at a press conference, referring to the row over a question in the internal assessment examination of some schools in Gujarat.

Savarkar had faced criminal trial in the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, Tewari said, adding that he was later acquitted.

Many BJP leaders look up to Savarkar for inspiration although he was a member of the Hindu Mahasabha and not the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the BJP.