In reply to BJP leadership, Anantkumar Hegde says he never mentioned Gandhi

There is a view in the party that what the former Union Minister said might be in bad taste but its content was distorted in some media reports, a senior BJP leader said.

February 04, 2020 04:39 pm | Updated November 28, 2021 12:21 pm IST - New Delhi

Former Union Minister and BJP leader Anantkumar Hegde

Former Union Minister and BJP leader Anantkumar Hegde

BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde has written to the party leadership that he made no mention of Mahatma Gandhi in his speech, which has faced flak for its swipe at the Father of the Nation, and controversial remarks attributed to him are “incorrect”.

BJP sources said Mr. Hegde sent a detailed reply to party president J.P. Nadda, and the party’s disciplinary committee, which issued him a show-cause notice on Monday, is studying its content before deciding its next course of action.

Mr. Hegde has claimed he did not name Mahatma Gandhi nor did he insult him in his speech and news reports about his speech are “incorrect”. He added he also did not use words like “ nautanki ” or “drama” to describe the freedom struggle led by Gandhi.

There is a view in the party that what the former Union Minister said might be in bad taste but its content was distorted in some media reports, a senior BJP leader said.

Speaking in Kannada at an event in Bengaluru on Saturday to commemorate Veer Savarkar, an iconic Hindutva figure, Mr. Hegde said freedom fighters who did not sacrifice anything made the country believe that it attained independence through ‘Upavas Satyagrah’, Gandhi’s preferred mode of agitation by undertaking fast.

“Such people became ‘Mahapurush (great person),” said Mr. Hegde, who is no stranger to controversies.

The Gandhi-led freedom struggle was an “adjustment” with the British, he said, suggesting that contribution of revolutionaries and other freedom fighters who were not associated with the Congress were undermined.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.