JAIPUR: The Congress high command has asked for a report on the remarks made by the party’s Rajasthan unit chief Govind Singh Dotasara, praising Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar on Monday.
Party insiders said Sonia Gandhi has taken Dotasara’s remarks seriously. She has directed AICC general secretary K C Venugopal to get a full report on his statement.
The leadership has asked AICC in-charge of the state Ajay Maken to inquire into the matter and submit a report. Maken has sought a complete video of the statement from the party’s Rajasthan unit.
The BJP is using Dotasara’s comment on Savarkar’s role in the freedom struggle to embarrass the ruling Congress in the state. Speaking at an event marking the August Kranti Diwas in Jaipur on Monday, Dotasara had reportedly said: “We can’t reject Savarkar’s role in the country’s freedom struggle. He talked about Hindu Rashtra, which was not wrong at that time as our country was not independent and our Constitution was not formed.”
BJP leaders quickly claimed that Dotasara’s statement implied that he accepted Savarkar’s role in the freedom struggle and that the truth about Savarkar’s contribution was “finally being realised by Congress leaders”.
Though Savarkar is seen as a hero by Hindutva groups, the Congress has always regarded him as an “insider” of the British.
Far from accepting him as a freedom fighter, the Congress has seen him as a dubious character who “apologised” to the British to come out of jail.
In this context, Dotasara is now being accused of crossing the party line.
Dotasara, who is also the education minister in the Ashok Gehlot government, said: “I did not make any statement outside the party line.”
He said the country got independence because of those who believed in the Congress ideology, and that the BJP and RSS were conspiring to use Savarkar’s ideology to create disharmony.
‘My words twisted’
The Rajasthan Congress chief has now clarified that his remarks were twisted by the BJP. Dotasara said: “I did not make any statement outside the party line.”