NEW DELHI: The Congress party is upset with its leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi for calling Hindu Mahasabha ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar an 'accomplished man,' who had participated in India's freedom struggle.
A top party leader said that the Congress was not expecting such a statement from Singhvi and has asked him to immediately clarify his tweet; otherwise, the party will suffer.
"His remarks on the voting day can directly affect the Congress party," said the source.
Taking to Twitter, Singhvi said that Savarkar had fought for Dalit rights and went to jail for the country.
"I personally do not subscribe to Savarkar's ideology but that does not take away the fact that he was an accomplished man" who played part in the freedom struggle, fought for Dalit rights and went to jail for the country," the Rajya Sabha MP wrote on Twitter with the hashtag "never forget".
Soon after his first tweet in which he acknowledged Savarkar's role in the freedom struggle, Singhvi takes a U-turn and in another tweet said that he "cannot agree with the violent elements of Savarkar's nationalism and anti-Gandhism."
This comes days after the BJP in its manifesto for Maharashtra Assembly polls proposed the Bharat Ratna award for the Hindutva ideologue.
After this announcement, the Congress party has been lashing out at the BJP for propping up the name of Savarkar for the highest civilian award in its manifesto for the Maharashtra elections, being held today.
The counting of votes will take place on October 24.