Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday said Veer Savarkar had sown the seed of Partition in 1925 and questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party's role in the freedom struggle.
He also slammed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh over its repeated utterances on 'Akhand Bharat' and asked why the organisation was indulging in "gorakh dhandha' (unethical practice) of misleading and dividing people.
Responding to a query on the BJP observing 'Partition Horrors Remembrance Day' (Vibhajan Vibhishika Divas) on Sunday and blaming the Congress for Partition, Baghel said, "Savarkar had sowed the seed of Partition in 1925. It was Savarkar who gave the two-nation theory which was supported by Mohammad Ali Jinnah in 1937."
"They (BJP) are divisive. What role did they play in the country's Independence? In 1925, the RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) were in existence. See the statements of their leaders then. Baghel said in 1942 (during the Quit India movement), they (RSS and HP) said how the movement can be suppressed.
"Syama Prasad Mukherjee (founder of Bharatiya Jan Sangh) had written to the viceroy. They didn't want the British to leave the country. Even today they criticize Mahatma Gandhi and not the British," Baghel claimed.
The Congress leader also said the map of "Hindu Rashtra" displayed in the office of the Sangh shows Pakistan, Afghanistan and some other neighbouring countries as part of 'Akhand Bharat' (united, undivided India).
"On one hand, they have this old map and say Pakistan must be included in India. On the other hand, they also keep asking Muslims to go to Pakistan. Why are you (BJP/RSS) doing this 'gorakh dhandha'?" Baghel questioned.
Akhand Bharat will bring Muslims from Pakistan into India, which will automatically increase the population of the community here manifold, the CM claimed. "But you also say Muslims should be sent to Pakistan. They (BJP and RSS) always do the job of misleading the people," he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
