Lucknow: The Congress and the Samajwadi Party have strongly objected to a portrait of Veer Savarkar, also known as the father of Hindutva, finding a place at the Vidhan Parishad Picture Gallery which was inaugurated Tuesday by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Congress MLC Deepak Singh has written a letter to the Chairman UP Council, Ramesh Yadav, demanding immediate removal of Savarkar’s photo from the gallery.
“His (Savarkar) photo at the Picture Gallery is an insult to all freedom fighters. It should be removed immediately and can be placed at the BJP office,” said the Congress MLC.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said: “So many controversies surround Savarkar. The entire country knows how he begged and apologized to Britishers for his release. The BJP should learn from history. His picture is nothing but an insult to our great freedom fighters.”
Adityanath, who inaugurated the gallery, though said: “Savarkar was a great freedom fighter who was awarded life sentence twice for his role in the freedom struggle.”