PNS | New Delhi
Senior BJP leader LK Advani on Monday appealed to the Congress to reconsider its opposition to Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the prominent freedom fighter known for his right wing ideology. Congress MPs had boycotted a parliamentary function to pay tributes to Savarkar on his birth anniversary on May 28. Only Meira Kumar, a Congress MP, was present in the capacity of Lok Sabha Speaker.
“Quite a number of MPs were there. But from the Congress, only one single MP was present, Speaker Meira Kumar. Since February 2003, when Swatantryaveer Savarkar’s portrait was first put up in the Central Hall and formally unveiled by then President Abdul Kalam, the Congress has been boycotting all functions relating to this portrait, including the first function involving the President himself! This is singularly unfortunate, and I would like to urge the Congress to reconsider its stand,” Advani wrote in his latest blog post on Monday.
In case of every leader whose portrait is in Parliament’s Central Hall, Advani said, the Lok Sabha Secretariat never fails to invite MPs to come to the Parliament House on his or her respective birth anniversary and pay floral tributes to that leader. “For last Saturday also invitations were duly sent to all MPs. A notice was also published in Bulletin Part II of the Lok Sabha,” Advani added.
The former Deputy Prime Minister reminded the Congress when Savarkar breathed his last in 1966, veteran Congress leader Indira Gandhi paid rich tributes to him and called him a great figure of contemporary India whose name was a by-word for daring and patriotism. “He was cast in the mould of a classic revolutionary and countless people drew inspiration from him, she said,” Advani quoted Gandhi as saying.
“I recall whenever there was a function in the NDA days, relating to Savarkar, Vasant Sathe was invariably present. He told me that during his tenure as I&B Minister a documentary on Savarkar was planned and some people raised objections. On Smt. Gandhi’s advice he brushed aside those objections and the documentary was made,” he noted.
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