When BJP Stops Lying About Our Leaders, We'll Stop Speaking The Truth About Theirs: Jairam Ramesh On Savarkar Row

Days after a controversy erupted over Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's remarks on freedom fighter V D Savarkar, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said that chapter is closed.

'Savarkar chapter is closed'

On Wednesday, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Savarkar's chapter is closed. However, I would like to reiterate that the day people from the BJP and RSS stop lying about our leaders, we will stop speaking the truth about their leaders." He was addressing a press conference during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra in Madhya Pradesh's Burhanpur district.

Controversy over Gandhi's remarks on Savarkar

During the Maharashtra leg of the Congress's Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi alleged that Savarkar had helped the British and wrote a mercy petition out of fear. He had also called Savarkar a symbol of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Gandhi's remarks were criticised by the BJP and other political organisations. They also received a backlash from Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition partner Shiv Sena. Sena MP Sanjay Raut lambasted Gandhi over his comments and said that Savarkar and Hindutva were ideological issues that cannot be compromised by the party. 

A few days after the tussle began, Raut wrote on twitter that Gandhi had called him to sort out the differences. 

The Bharat Jodo march entered Bodarli village in Burhanpur from neighbouring Maharashtra on Wednesday morning. Ramesh said Rahul Gandhi on an average walked 21 kilometres every day along with other participants during the Bharat Jodo Yatra which has so far passed through six states. "There were occasions in Maharashtra when Gandhi walked up to 24 km in a day during the yatra," he said. 

Ramesh also said forest areas were being crossed by bus during foot march, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7.

(With inputs from PTI)