Rahul targets Savarkar again; Cong ally Sanjay Raut demands Bharat Ratna for freedom fighter

Rahul Gandhi has once again criticised freedom fighter Veer Savarkar, this time targeting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

"A minister says in an interview that India has a smaller economy than China. So how can we fight them? Was our economy very big when we were fighting the British? This is cowardice," HT quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying at the 85th plenary session in Raipur.

"This is Savarkar's ideology to bow before the one who is stronger than you. So you will fight only with those who are weaker than you? This is called cowardice," Rahul Gandhi added. "And India's minister is telling China that we can't stand in front of you because you are stronger than us. What is this nationalism? There is a term for it. We are called satyagrahi but they are sattagrahi," Rahul Gandhi continued.

A few months ago, Gandhi had criticised Savarkar saying he is a symbol of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). "He was jailed in Andaman for two-three years. He started writing mercy petitions," the Congress MP had said. The former Congress president had claimed Savarkar wrote a book on himself with a different name and highlighted how brave he was. "He used to take pension from the British, work for them, and work against the Congress," Gandhi had said.

While Gandhi has continued to be critical of the great Indian freedom fighter, Sanjay Raut, leader of the Uddhav faction of Shiv Sena and Congress ally, has appealed Centre to honour Veer Savarkar with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award.

He said that Savarkar was a "brave son" of Maharashtra and said, "Veer Savarkar was a legend of Maharashtra. He is a brave son of Maharashtra. Central Government should give Bharat Ratna to him."

It has to be seen how Sanjay Raut will respond to Rahul Gandhi's latest remarks on Savarkar.