BENGALURU: Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has sparked a controversy by saying that Hindu nationalist Vinayaka Damodar Savarkar “propagated meat eating, and a few even say that he ate beef.”
Even as the BJP strongly condemned the minister’s statement, Dinesh did not budge and continued to defend his remarks. “Once again, sorry for speaking the truth!” Dinesh posted on ‘X’. He further posted, “SORRY... for not my statements, but this is what Savarkar said to the British.”
Karnataka BJP took to social media to hit out at Dinesh. “Savarkar was a beef eater?! Shocking to see Congress leaders like @dineshgrao spreading lies about Veer Savarkar ! His sacrifices for India’s freedom cannot be tarnished by cheap political narratives. Congress’s hatred for Marathas and Maharashtra is visible!” the Karnataka BJP posted on ‘X’.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, R Ashoka, also slammed the Congress. “Congress’ God is Tipu Sultan. Why are you Congress people always targeting Hindus? Why not Muslims? The Congress’ mindset is like this. Hindus have given a verdict in the elections. Every Hindu will teach them a lesson,” Ashoka said.
BJP MLC CT Ravi questioned Dinesh if he was supporting cow slaughter or justifying the consumption of beef. “What is he trying to promote? Has he started some new business? Is he speaking like that to get support for his business?” the MLC said. “If one is in favour of Gandhi ideology, then cow slaughter and beef consumption are not justified. If one is in favour of Jinnah, then he or she can justify cow slaughter, partition of India, and eating beef. The minister should clarify,” Ravi added.
Didn’t criticise Savarkar personally
Dinesh Issuing a statement to the media on Thursday evening, Dinesh Gundu Rao clarified that his intention was not to criticise Savarkar personally except to analyse the arguments.
“I did not criticise him except discussing the arguments of Gandhi and Savarkar,” he said.
“I compared the lifestyle of Gandhiji who believed in Hinduism, and Savarkar, who wanted to build a Hindu nation, as an atheist. My opinion is that Gandhi’s ideology should win in the country and not Savarkar’s fundamentalism. It is not right for the media to talk only about Savarkar being a non-vegetarian,” he suggested while taking a dig as his statement was misinterpreted.
WHAT DINESH HAD SAID...
Speaking during the release of the Kannada version of “Gandhi’s Assassin: The Making of Nathuram Godse and His Idea of India” on Wednesday, Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao had said, “Savarkar used to eat meat and was not against cow slaughter. He was a Chitpavan Brahmin, but he was non-vegetarian. That way, he was a modernist. It was fundamental thinking too, but on the other hand, he was a modernist also. Few say he used to eat beef as well, but definitely, as a Brahmin, he was eating meat, and he was openly propagating eating meat.”