Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has criticised the BJP for its plan to honour Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as Veer Savarkar, with a Bharat Ratna award – India’s highest civilian honour.
Speaking to Congress party workers in Mangaluru, Siddaramaiah reportedly said, "The murderer of Mahatma Gandhi is getting Bharat Ratna! Those who conspired to eliminate Gandhiji are getting Bharat Ratna! Should BJP be allowed to gain a foothold in Mangaluru, known as land of intellectuals?"
Savarkar was named as one of the accused in Gandhi’s murder, but was not convicted. Some of his critics say that this was only because of insufficient evidence.
Siddaramaiah's remarks come after the BJP pledged to honour Savarkar with a Bharat Ratna in its manifesto for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
BJP Karnataka's social media handle responded by defending Savarkar's role in the freedom struggle, which has been subject to scrutiny. "Veer Savarkar who fought British and was kept in deadliest jail shouldn't be awarded Bharat Ratna. If British didn't want to give freedom to India & Nehru was leading independence movement, why wasn't he sent to Cellular Jail?"
According to @INCIndia, Veer Savarkar who fought British & was kept in deadliest jail shouldn't be awarded Bharata Ratna.
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) October 19, 2019
If British didn't want to give freedom to India & Nehru was leading Independence Movement, why wasn't he sent to Cellular Jail?#BharatRatnaforVeerSavarkar
Although Savarkar's supporters cite his time in the Cellular Jail, his critics point out the mercy petitions Savarkar wrote to the British in which he pledged loyalty to the British.
Savarkar, a staunch supporter of Hindutva, was given the prefix 'Veer' by followers of the Sangh Parivar. As per a column published by Outlook, the BJP vaulted Savarkar into the national limelight by hanging a portrait of him in Parliament in 2002.
On Thursday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that had it not been for Veer Savarkar, India wouldn't have known the importance of the 1857 Mutiny. "The Mutiny of 1857 would have remained a revolt as the British had called it. It was Veer Savarkar who gave it the name of the first war of independence," said Shah.