Don't insult Veer Savarkar: Sanjay Raut on Rahul Gandhi's remark

New Delhi, Dec 14: The Shiv Sena on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi's jibe My name is not Rahul Savarkar', saying that there could not be any "compromise" about reverence for the Hindutva ideologue.

"Veer Savarkar is an idol of whole country and not just Maharashtra. The name Savarkar denotes pride about nation and self. Like Nehru and Gandhi, Savarkar too sacrificed his life for the country. Every such idol must be revered. There is no compromise on this," Raut, a Rajya Sabha member, tweeted.

"We respect both Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru. Please do not insult Veer Savarkar. Intelligent people need not be told anything more," he further added.

Taking a jibe at the BJP for demanding an apology for his "rape in India" remark, Gandhi said, "My name is Rahul Gandhi, not Rahul Savarkar. I will never apologise for speaking truth and nor will any Congressman do so.

It is Narendra Modi and his assistant Amit Shah who has to apologise to the country for destroying India's economy."

Rahul Gandhi also alleged that people manning various institutions, including media and constitutional ones like judiciary, have forgotten their work.

Reacting to Rahul's savarkar remark, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya had said he looks forward to Congress ally Shiv Sena's defense of Rahul Gandhi's insinuation that Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a coward.

"Looking forward to seeing Shiv Sena defend Rahul Gandhi for his statement implying that Veer Savarkar was a coward who apologised'!" he tweeted later.

The Shiv Sena and the BJP fell out recently after they won the Maharashtra election together. The Congress is part of the Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra.