The AICC and its Maharashtra unit find themselves at odds on the Savarkar controversy raised by petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and then fanned by the BJP-Shiv Sena.
Worried that the anti-Savarkar remarks could harm the Congress' prospects in the state, chief minister Sushilkumar Shinde, MPCC chief Prabha Rau and even NCP's Sharad Pawar — have sought to contain the damage by describing Savarkar as a freedom fighter and a patriot — a description that does not gel with the AICC's stand.
The AICC, which described Aiyar's remarks as his "personal views," condemned Savarkar's "divisive and bigoted philosophy" and refused to call him a patriot. "His divisive ideology weakened the country's struggle for freedom," spokesperson Anand Sharma said to queries on Savarkar's role in the country's partition. He admitted that while Savarkar may have participated in the freedom movement initially, his subsequent role was controversial.
Sharma's denunciation came even as Aiyar, in a statement, denied his reported remarks on Savarkar. He said he had only quoted from Savarkar's statement at a press conference in Nagpur on August 15, 1942 in which he (Savarkar) had said: "I have no quarrel with Jinnah's two nation theory… it is a historical fact that Hindus and Muslims are two nations.''
Meanwhile, DMK chief M. Karunanidhi criticised Aiyar for the reported remarks. But he also described as "barbaric" the Shiv Sena's agitation against Aiyar in which Bal Thackeray hit the minister's effigy with slippers.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, DMK chief M. Karunanidhi criticised Aiyar for the reported remarks. But he also described as "barbaric" the Shiv Sena's agitation against Aiyar in which Bal Thackeray hit the minister's effigy with slippers.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Sharma downplayed the DMK's reaction and the differing perceptions of the AICC and MPCC on the issue, asserting that no state leader has endorsed Savarkar's political philosophy.