BJP's Hegde says Gandhi-led freedom movement a 'drama'; Cong hits back
New Delhi, February 3
The Congress on Monday slammed BJP leader Anantkumar Hegde for reportedly calling the Mahatma Gandhi-led freedom movement a “drama”, saying the Father of the Nation did not need a certificate from the “cadre of Britishers’ chamchas and spies”.
A red-faced BJP initiated disciplinary proceedings by serving him a show cause notice seeking an explanation.
A senior BJP leader said its top brass, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is “upset” with the sixth-term Lok Sabha MP, who was a minister in the first Modi government, and the Karnataka leader has been asked to take remedial measures, including tendering an apology.
The party will take its next course of action after receiving his reply, he added.
Hegde, a former Union minister, reportedly claimed at an event in Bengaluru that the entire freedom movement was staged with the consent and support of the British, and the independence movement led by Gandhi was a “drama”.
“Mahatma Gandhi does not need a certificate from cadre of Britishers’ ‘chamchas and spies’,” Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said in a tweet. It is high time the BJP is renamed “Nathuram Godse Party”, he added.
Another Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi tweeted, “Awaiting Narendra Modi who invokes Mahatma Gandhi at the drop of a hat especially when repackaging his ideas and to gain international credibility to comment on Mr Hegde who is a senior BJP leader.” PTI
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