BHUBANESWAR: Heated exchanges between Opposition Congress and BJP were witnessed in the Assembly on Saturday over Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse for the second consecutive day even as the ruling BJD maintained a silence over the issue.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, leader of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Narasingh Mishra targeted the BJP members and asked whether can they condemn the people who “worship” Nathuram Godse. “The Congress has no hesitation to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’. I am chanting this in this House. But, can my BJP friends condemn people who worship Nathuram Godse?,” he asked.
Mishra chanted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ to show that Congrodisha assembly members have no hesitation in doing this. He was responding to Leader of the Opposition Pradipta Kumar Nayak who had on Friday criticised the Congress for opposing chanting of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.
The Congress leader had raised a question on Friday on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) respect for Indian National Flag and Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. “The RSS headquarters had not hoisted tri-colour for 52 years after Independence,” the Congress leader had said, adding it had done so only in 1999.
Mishra referred to the book ‘Bunch of Thoughts’ by former RSS chief MS Golwalkar in which he has written something critical about Mahatma Gandhi. He asked whether the House should condemn the person who had written such critical words against Mahatma Gandhi.
However, Deputy leader of BJP in the Assembly, Bishnu Charan Sethi criticised Mishra for raising such issues every day in the House. “I do not understand why the member from Balangir (Mishra) has been repeatedly raising the Gandhi and Godse issue. These are not related to Odisha. We have a lot of issues like drought and unemployment,” he said and added Gandhi was not against the RSS but liked it because untouchability was not an issue for it.
“All Indians irrespective of caste were part of the RSS,” Sethi claimed and added that even former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru had no adverse opinion towards the organisation. Former President Pranab Mukherjee had visited the RSS headquarters despite opposition by some leaders of a “particular political party”, he added.