Savarkar's portrait in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council picture gallery sparks row

Lucknow Jan 20: A portrait of Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar in the picture gallery of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council has sparked a row, with Congress MLC Deepak Singh raising an objection and writing a letter to the Chairman seeking its removal.

The portrait was inaugurated by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday. "The installation of the picture of Savarkarji along with that of great freedom fighters who withstood atrocities of the British and yet did not bow before them is an insult to all those who continued to bear all kind of tortures and kept fighting for independence," Singh said in the letter to Chairman Ramesh Yadav on Tuesday.

He also said that the picture of Savarkar should be removed and be placed in the BJP parliamentary office . Singh said the Chairman has directed the principal secretary of the Council to look into the matter and take necessary action.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, when asked to comment on the issue, said there should be a debate among the youth about what contribution has been made by different people to the country and all those who have contributed to the freedom struggle should be honoured.

But there are others on whom there are different kinds of allegations, documents and stories which raise a question mark, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister added without elaborating. While inaugurating the portrait, the chief minister had termed Savarkar as a great freedom fighter and philosopher whose personality is a source of inspiration for all Indians.

While the BJP counts on Savarkar's contribution to India's freedom movement and calls him a "great patriot", the Congress and other opposition parties have long shunned him for his alleged link to Mahatma Gandhi's assassin.