Row as Shah calls Gandhi ‘chatur Baniya’

Raipur/New Delhi, June 10

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BJP chief Amit Shah dubbed Mahatma Gandhi a “bahut chatur Baniya”, a reference to his mercantile caste, sparking a political row, with the Congress and other Opposition parties demanding an apology from him for insulting the Father of the Nation.

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Shah made the reference while telling “prominent citizens” in Raipur yesterday how the “bahut chatur Baniya” (very shrewd Baniya) had rightly advised dissolution of the Congress after Independence. Shah also said the Congress was not rooted in any ideology or principles and was sort of a “special purpose vehicle” to secure freedom.

Facing flak, Shah today said the import of his comments was heard by the people present. “Maine jis reference me kaha hai wahan sab logo ne suna, Surjewalaji ko abhi Gandhiji ke bahut sare siddhanto ka jawab dena hai (those present heard my comments and the reference in which they were made. AICC spokesperson Randeep Surjewala is yet to answer about many principles of Gandhiji),” Shah said when asked about the Congress demand for his apology.

Calling Shah a “trader of power”, Surjewala said his remarks were “an insult to freedom fighters, their sacrifices and also to Gandhi”.

While West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed the comments “uncalled for and unethical”, CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy demanded that Shah tender an apology.

Former CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat said Shah’s remark reveals “the contempt the BJP-RSS has for Gandhiji”.

At yesterday’s event, Shah had said, “The Congress party... was constituted as a club by a British man. It was later converted into an organisation engaged in freedom struggle.” It had in its fold both right and left-leaning people like Maulana Azad, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and many others, he said.

“People of various ideologies and thinking associated themselves with Congress to gain Independence. Congress didn’t have any ideology or set of principles and it was only used as a special purpose vehicle to secure freedom.

“And therefore, Mahatma Gandhi, with a lot of foresight — he was a very shrewd Baniya — he knew what was going to happen in future. He had said immediately after Independence that Congress should be dissolved.”

Mahatma Gandhi couldn’t do that, but now some people are completing the task of dissolution of Congress, the BJP chief added, in an apparent jibe at the present Congress leadership. “Rather than fighting casteism, they (BJP) identified even the Father of the Nation with his caste. This shows the character and ideology of the ruling party and its president. Where will these people take the country?” Surjewala asked. 

In a hard-hitting response, Surjewala alleged that “Amit Shah, who himself is a trader of power, is today saying that the freedom movement was a business model. But in reality, before Independence, Britishers used RSS and Hindu Mahasabha as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for partition of the country”. He also said “similarly, today, BJP is acting as a SPV for few corporates for taking care of their business interests”. — PTI