'Will blacken Rahul's face': Uddhav Sena leader sparks row over 'Savarkar insult', Cong hits back

NEW DELHI: Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress on Wednesday indulged in a political slugfest after one Sena (UBT) leader vowed to blacken Rahul Gandhi's face for his 'derogatory' comments about freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.Nashik city unit chief of Sena (UBT), Bala Darade, slammed Rahul for calling Savarkar 'mafi-veer' and said that he will pelt stones at Congress leaders' convoy if he ever visits Nashik."We are proud that we live in the birthplace of Swatantrya-veer Savarkar. Rahul Gandhi's statement about Savarkar, calling him 'Mafi-veer', was insulting," Darade told a Marathi news channel on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the Hindutva ideologue."We condemn it strongly. We will blacken Rahul Gandhi's face if he comes to Nashik. If we cannot do that, we will pelt stones at his convoy," he added.Nashik-resident Devendra Bhutada has filed a defamation case against Gandhi, claiming that some remarks made by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha against Savarkar hurt his feelings.Darade further said he did not care about the consequences of his threat for the MVA.Meanwhile, Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sushma Andhare claimed that Darade's views were his own and not the official stand of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.Congress, however, strongly objected to Darade's remarks and said that Congress workers are capable enough of tackling such threats."Rahul Gandhi's father, late Rajiv Gandhi, and grandmother, late Indira Gandhi, sacrificed their lives for India's unity. Congress and its leadership are not afraid of such threats," he told reporters. "Rahul Gandhi did not make derogatory remarks against Savarkar," Congress Maharashtra unit chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said."His comments contain historical references. Even (journalist and writer) Arun Shourie, a minister in the Vajpayee government, has written a book on Savarkar, and most references in that book are what Rahul Gandhi has said. Our workers are capable of tackling such threats," he added.Former minister Yashomati Thakur also backed Rahul and said, "Rahul Gandhi only repeated what has been written in history."The Sena (UBT) is an ally of the Congress in the MVA, and the two parties are also part of the INDIA grouping of the Opposition. In the 2024 assembly elections, the Mahayuti coalition of BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP won 235 of the 288 seats, with BJP securing 132 alone. Shinde's Sena secured 57 seats and Ajit Pawar's NCP got 41 seats.On the other hand, it was a disappointing show by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which was hoping for a grand comeback. Uddhav's Sena got 20 seats, Congress 16, and Sharad Pawar's NCP secured 10 seats.