Congress-led Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao claimed that Vinayak Savarkar promoted beef-eating and was a fundamentalist, unlike Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Rao said Savarkar, a Chitpavan Brahmin, was a modernist who wasn’t against cow slaughter, while Gandhi held conservative beliefs rooted in Hinduism.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi hit back at the Congress leader, calling his remarks ignorant. Naqvi accused Rao of distorting history to defame national heroes.
Karnataka Congress Minister’s comments
Unveiling the Kannada version of ‘Gandhi’s Assassin: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of India’ Karnataka Congress health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said, “If we claim that Savarkar’s ideas prevail in discussions, that is misleading. He was a non-vegetarian, and he wasn’t against cow slaughter; he was a Chitpavan Brahmin. Savarkar was a modernist, but his fundamental thinking was different. Some people said he used to eat beef, and he was openly propagating eating beef so that thinking is different. But Gandhi ji had a lot of belief in Hinduism and was conservative, but his actions were different because he was democratic in that way.”
Rao also said Jinnah was not a fundamentalist and just wanted to hold a high government position while calling for a separate nation.
The health minister suggested that Jinnah was not a fundamentalist, but Savarkar was one.
BJP Hits Back
On Thursday, Naqvi criticized Rao for calling Vinayak Savarkar a ‘beef eater’ and said his wild claims show his ignorance of the country’s rich history.
Talking to IANS, Naqvi said, “Some people, in a bid to show themselves as more knowledgeable than others, try to defame and sully national heroes. “Their wild claims show their ignorance of the country’s rich history and reflect their mental state.
“Those who talk like this are full of ignorance and trying to create confusion about the country’s history, values, culture and great personalities. But, whatever he says will not be accepted by the country.” Health Minister Rao made the remarks on Wednesday during a book launch event.
Naqvi further said that there was an urgent need to check the mental health of leaders who speak in such a manner. “The people of the country need to treat the mental imbalance of these leaders who are pretending to be wise, and they also need to get themselves examined at a good mental hospital,” Naqvi concluded.
He also came down on Muhammad Ali Jinnah and claimed that despite being a “hardcore believer in Islam,” he used to eat pork.
(With inputs from the IANS)
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