Amid row over Savarkar, Rahul Gandhi to hold rally in Nagpur

Rahul Gandhi is set to address a rally in Nagpur between April 20 and 25, his first public event after being disqualified from Lok Sabha. The rally comes after his remarks on Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar caused a fissure in the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi. The ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance started a 'Savarkar Gaurav Yatra' in response to his comments. Nagpur is the hometown of BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and the RSS is headquartered there. State Congress president Nana Patole confirmed the rally, and said the venue will be finalised on March 10.

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is likely to address a rally between April 20 and 25 in Nagpur, nearly a month after his remarks on Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar caused a fissure in the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA). This will also be his first public event after his disqualification from Lok Sabha following his conviction by a Surat court.

New Delhi, Apr 06 (ANI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with party's general secretary in-charge (Organisation) KC Venugopal arrives at the AICC headquarters to attend the Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting regarding the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections, in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI Photo) (Gagan Pawar)

Confirming the development, state Congress president Nana Patole said the extended executive committee would be held on March 10 in Thane where the date and venue of the rally would be finalised.

Atul Londhe, chief spokesperson of the party’s state unit, said they would also try to bring Priyanka Gandhi to the event. “Rahul ji has decided to hold rallies across the country and in Maharashtra he will hold one in Nagpur. We are likely to conduct it at the historic Kasturchand Park.”

Nagpur is the hometown of deputy CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, and the RSS is headquartered here.

On March 25, the former MP sparked a political row after he said that his name was not Savarkar but Gandhi, and Gandhis don’t apologise. The statement was in response to a suggestion that he could have escaped conviction and a two-year jail term in a 2019 criminal defamation case if he had tendered an apology for his remarks on the Modi surname.

Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, who is one of the MVA partners apart from the Congress and the NCP, too expressed his displeasure over what he called an insult to Savarkar. It was also one of the topics discussed in a joint meeting of opposition parties held on March 27 in Delhi where NCP president Sharad Pawar reportedly told the Congress top brass that the Savarkar issue should not be taken up unnecessarily as it strains the relations between the allies.

The Nagpur rally will be Gandhi’s second visit to Maharashtra in the last four months. He was in the state for Bharat Jodo Yatra in November when he covered five districts on foot in 14 days.