Gujarat Congress Leaders Booked For Objecting To Savarkar T-Shirts Worn By Govt School Students

Congress Seva Dal chief Lalji Desai and other leaders were charged for protesting against a Gujarat school's event where students wore Veer Savarkar T-shirts during a Tiranga Yatra, causing a disruption.

Congress Seva Dal national chief organiser Lalji Desai and Gujarat Congress working president Rutwik Makwana were five individuals charged for allegedly protesting against a government school in Surendranagar.

The students at the school wore T-shirts featuring Veer Savarkar and Chandrashekhar Azad during a Tiranga Yatra on Wednesday.

The FIR, filed at Chotila police station, accused the five of disrupting the Yatra and preventing the principal and teachers of the primary school in Sangani village from performing their duties.

According to Principal Kalpesh Chauhan's complaint, Congress leaders halted the students' march around 11 am when their Gujarat Nyaya Yatra intersected with the Tiranga Yatra.

Allegations Against Congress Leaders

Chauhan's complaint detailed that some Congress leaders demanded that he and the teachers instruct students to remove their T-shirts.

He said that the T-shirts, depicting Savarkar and Azad as freedom fighters, were donated by the Indumati Vasantalal Charitable Trust from Mumbai.

"Laljibhai knows it well that such utterances can insult various sections of society and freedom fighters," Chauhan stated in his complaint.

The police reported that Congress leaders recorded videos of students wearing saffron-coloured T-shirts and shared them on social media.

The FIR quoted Chauhan saying Desai remarked, "It was not fair to ask students to wear T-shirts with photo of RSS leader Veer Savarkar."

Desai further questioned if they would make students wear T-shirts of Nathuram Godse or Dawood Ibrahim if provided tomorrow.

Legal Charges Filed

The five individuals were charged under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita.

These include promoting enmity between communities, publishing false information jeopardising India's unity, wrongful restraint, unlawful assembly, obstructing public servants, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and circulating false information likely to create enmity or hatred between groups.

The incident occurred as Congress leaders were marching towards Sayla from Chotila town. Their Nyaya Yatra had started on August 9 from Morbi to demand justice for victims of various tragedies including the Morbi bridge collapse and fires in Rajkot and Surat.

The march is set to conclude in Gandhinagar on August 23 after passing through Rajkot, Surendranagar, and Ahmedabad districts.

Desai's comments during the confrontation highlighted his disapproval of using Savarkar's image on student attire.

He argued it demeaned independence by associating it with someone linked to Mahatma Gandhi's assassination conspiracy. This sparked a heated exchange with school authorities.

The FIR also mentioned that Desai's statements could potentially insult different societal sections and freedom fighters.

The principal defended the school's decision by stating that the T-shirts were a gift intended to honour freedom fighters like Savarkar and Azad.