NCP Chief Sharad Pawar (L) with former Maharashtra CM and MVA ally Uddhav Thackeray. (File Photo | PTI)
MUMBAI: One of the high points of the meeting that NCP leader Sharad Pawar had on Monday in Delhi with opposition leaders was that Rahul Gandhi reportedly agreed not to escalate the Savarkar controversy any further, Shiv Sena leaders close to Uddhav Thackeray said.
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar from Maharashtra is a Hindutva icon projected as a staunch freedom fighter whom Congress and many historians interpret as someone who compromised with the colonial British, so they refuse to accord any halo of honour to the history’s “controversial” figure.
However, during Bharat Jodo Yatra and on several other occasions, Congress and others have publicly denounced the saffron leaders over their Savarkar eulogy. Things came to a head when Uddhav publicly expressed his displeasure over the continued “insult” of Savarkar by Rahul. The Uddhav faction is allied to Congress and NCP in the form of Maha Vikas Aghadi which ruled before Uddhav was ousted from power after a split in the Sena and the MVA collapsed early last year.
Sources said Sharad Pawar spoke to Opposition leaders in his meeting with them on Monday and reportedly asked top Congress leaders not to raise the issue that “has no relevance in today’s politics”.
“The freedom fighters’ era is different from today’s political era. Therefore, the old-era issues should not be unnecessarily stretched any longer to give the opportunity to BJP to target the MVA partner. Our focus should be on fighting against the BJP, not digging into old issues,” the NCP chief reportedly told Opposition leaders.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi with his own perspective of Savarkar presented his arguments. “However, Sena leaders and Pawar ultimately prevailed over Rahul in the larger interest of the Opposition unity,” said a source.
Uddhav camp’s top leader Sanjay Raut also met Rahul. He described the meeting as positive, saying its results would be visible soon. Earlier on Tuesday, Congress leader Rajani Patil also met Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and conveyed the message of Uddhav Thackeray.
Senior leaders said that Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge defended Rahul, saying that the Savarkar issue was “limited” to Maharashtra.
