The BJP on Monday issued a show cause notice to its MP Anant Kumar Hegde for his comments against Mahatma Gandhi.
Karnataka State president of the BJP Nalin Kumar Kateel said the party’s central leadership served the notice on Mr. Hegde, taking strong objections to his remarks and sought an explanation from him.
In controversial comments on Saturday, Mr. Hegde had questioned the freedom movement led by Gandhiji and described it as an “adjustment” with the British rulers.
“Freedom fighters who did not sacrifice anything made the country believe that it attained independence through ‘Upavas Satyagrah (hunger strikes)’ — Gandhi’s preferred mode of agitation — and became ‘mahapurush’ (great persons),” the MP from Uttara Kannada said at an event in Bengaluru.
Responding to the remarks, Congress leader Brijesh Kalappa appealed to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to conduct a “medial inquiry into the sanity” of the BJP MP. In a letter to Mr. Birla, Mr. Kalappa said, “as per the Article 102 of the Constitution, an insane member cannot continue as a member of the Lok Sabha”.
“If he (Mr Hegde) is found to be medically fit, impose requisite punishment within the framework of the Constitution for feigning madness, or forthwith refer him for treatment to any qualified psychiatrist, pending which his Karwar seat may be declared vacant warranting election,” Mr. Kalappa urged to the Speaker.
‘PM must clarify stand’
The Congress also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must clarify his stand in Parliament on Mr. Hegde’s remarks. “They are disparaging the national movement,” Congress leader Anand Sharma said at a press conference.
”If the Prime Minister and the BJP government are sincere about Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations, we demand that Mr. Modi come to Parliament and clarify his position,” Mr. Sharma said.
“They are desperate for ... elections and only to get some votes, they are inflicting deep wounds on the soul of India,” he said.
The Congress said the time had come for Mr. Modi to clarify whether his loyalty was to the Mahatma or to his assassin Nathuram Godse.
Several Congress leaders took to social media to attack the BJP; some even demanded a sedition case against Mr. Hegde, a former Union Minister. Senior leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted: “Anant Kumar Hegde is perhaps reflecting the views of his masters. If he is not, his comments should invite the strictest possible action from his party.”
(With inputs from Nagesh Prabhu, PTI)
