BJP will soon declare Savarkar as 'father of nation': Owaisi

Hitting out at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over his comment that "on Mahatma Gandhi's request, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday alleged that the BJP will soon declare Vinayak Damodar Savarkar as 'the father of the nation'.

Hyderabad (Telangana): Slamming Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over his comment that "on Mahatma Gandhi's request, Savarkar wrote mercy petitions to the British", AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday alleged that the BJP will soon declare Vinayak Damodar Savarkar as 'the father of the nation'.

Speaking to the media agencies, Owaisi said: "They (BJP) are presenting distorted history. If this continues, they will remove Mahatma Gandhi and make Savarkar, who was accused of the murder of Mahatma Gandhi and was pronounced complicit in the inquiry of Justice Jeevan Lal Kapur, as the father of the nation."

Earlier on Tuesday, the Defence Minister has stated that it was on Mahatma Gandhi's request that Savarkar wrote mercy petitions to the British. He was speaking at the launch of the book 'Veer Savarkar: The Man Who Could Have Prevented Partition'.

"Lies were spread about Savarkar. Time and again, it was said that he filed mercy petitions before the British government seeking his release from jail. It was Mahatma Gandhi who asked him to file mercy petitions," Singh said at the event.

ANI