Uddhav faction boycotts Opposition meet over Rahul's Savarkar jibe

Amid row over Rahul Gandhi's Savarkar remarks, the Uddhav Thackeray faction has decided skip the Opposition meeting at Mallikarjun Kharge's residence on Monday.

This comes as several opposition MPs took out a march against the government over the Adani issue and Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha.

"Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) will boycott the dinner meet as it expressed displeasure over Rahul Gandhi's remarks against Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Savarkar, MP Sanjay Raut told reporters.

Addressing a rally in Nashi, Uddhav Thackeray said he considers Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar as his "idol", and asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to refrain from "insulting" him.

He said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of three parties - Sena (UBT), Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was formed to protect democracy and it was necessary to work unitedly for it.

Thackeray also said that deliberate attempts were on to provoke Rahul Gandhi.

What did Rahul Gandhi say?

Addressing a press conference in Delhi over his disqualification, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said, "My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone".

What did Thackeray say?

"Savarkar is our idol and his insult will not be tolerated if we have to fight together to protect our democracy. Savarkar suffered unimaginable torture in the Andaman cellular jail for 14 years. We can only read the sufferings. It is a form of sacrifice," he said.

''I want to tell Rahul Gandhi that we have come together to save our country's democracy and its Constitution. But you are deliberately being provoked. If we allow this time to get wasted, then democracy will cease to exist. 2024 will be the last election," he added.

Thackeray mentioned that he supported Gandhi for his Bharat Jodo Yatra.