Had the Congress listened to Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, then the country would have been “spared the tragedy” of Partition, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Saturday.
Mr. Adityanath made the remarks while launching a book on Savarkar’s life, titled in Hindi, “Veer Savarkar: The one who could have prevented the division of India and his vision on national security”.
Mr. Adityanath said it was unfortunate that after India’s Independence, several parties had tried to compare Savarkar to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
Savarkar had said that while his vision was for a “sampoorna Bharat” (complete India), Jinnah’s views were “parochial” and of a “nation breaker”, Mr. Adityanath said, adding, “[Savarkar had said] Jinnah only talks of Muslims.”
The CM further said that Savarkar had stated he favoured the laws implemented on Hindus also be implemented on Muslims, Christians and Parsis. Mr. Adityanath also said that there were attempts to hide the brilliance of Savarkar, first by the British and then by those who got power straight after Independence.
Savarkar didn’t get the honour he deserved post-Independence, Mr. Adityanath said. He credited the word “Hindutva” to Savarkar.
Mr. Adityanath also said that Savarkar was a great hero of the 20th century and that nobody compared to him had been born in the world in that century.
There was no greater “revolutionary, writer, poet and philosopher” than Savarkar, Mr. Adityanath said, adding that it was extraordinary for one person to have all these qualities.
