Karnataka minister says 'Savarkar used to eat meat', sparks outrage

Karnataka health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao made a controversial remark about Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, saying that he consumed meat and possibly beef, triggering off the next major political controversy ahead of the assembly election in Maharashtra.

Karnataka minister further said that Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, was not a fundamentalist but Savarkar was.

Following the remarks, both the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) condemned the remarks, calling them an insult to the freedom fighter.

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Moreover, the BJP also started protesting and Savarkar's grandson even threatened to file a defamation suit against the Karnataka leader.

"Savarkar, a 'Chitpavan Brahmin', used to eat meat. He was a non-veg eater and he was not against cow slaughter... Some say that he used to eat beef as well. As a Brahmin, he used to eat meat and was openly propagating eating meat," Rao said.

BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi criticised Congress and demanded that the party name any of its top leaders who were handed down double life imprisonment and lodged at the cellular jail in Andaman-Nicobar Islands by the British.

"Insulting Veer Savarkar, who was an inspiration to revolutionaries in the country, is akin to spitting on the moon," BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said.

"Kanhaiya Kumar, who raises 'Bharat tere tukde honge' slogan, is embraced. Red carpet is rolled out for those who consider Afzal Guru (Parliament attack convict) a hero...What kind of 'mohabbat ki dukan' Rahul Gandhi has opened where the martyrs and freedom fighters are insulted?" he added.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam also condemned the statement and warned the Congress party against repeatedly maligning Savarkar, revered by many in Maharashtra for his role in India’s freedom struggle.

"Once again, the Congress party has made a very low-level comment against Swatantra Veer Savarkar. The statement made by the Karnataka Health Minister is completely condemnable; it is an insult to him," Nirupam said in a video.

"I want to tell the Congress and threaten them that the people of Maharashtra love Savarkar ji very much and if they keep insulting him like this again and again, then the people of Maharashtra will bury the Congress party in the ground, so the Congress party should stop insulting Savarkar," he said.

Meanwhile, the grandson of Veer Savarkar Ranjit Savarkar accused Congress of defaming his grandfather ahead of upcoming elections.

He said that the Congress was attempting to divide Hindu society along caste lines, a strategy reminiscent of British colonial-era policies.

"This is a strategy of Congress to defame Savarkar time and again, particularly when elections are coming. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi was doing it, and now his leaders are making statements... Congress has shown its real face," Ranjit Savarkar said.

(With inputs from agencies)