Please Don't Insult Veer Savarkar, He Is Nation's Idol: Sanjay Raut On Rahul Gandhi's Remark

The Shiv Sena on Saturday reacted sharply to Rahul Gandhi's jibe 'My name is not Rahul Savarkar', saying that there could not be any "compromise" about reverence for the Hindutva ideologue. Addressing the Congress' mega "Bharat Bachao Rally" in Delhi on Friday, Rahul Gandhi rejected the BJP's demand for apology for his "rape in India" barb, and added that his name was Rahul Gandhi, not "Rahul Savarkar" and he will never apologise for speaking the truth.

"Veer Savarkar is an idol of whole country and not just Maharashtra. The name Savarkar denotes pride about nation and self. Like Nehru and Gandhi, Savarkar too sacrificed his life for the country. Every such idol must be revered. There is no compromise on this," Raut tweeted.

The Congress is part of the Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi reiterated his refusal to apologise for his "Rape in India" comment, insisting that he had only spoken the truth. Speaking at the 'Bharat Bachao' rally, Rahul Gandhi said, "My name is Rahul Gandhi, not Rahul Savarkar; I will never apologise for speaking truth and nor will any Congressman do so."

The controvesial comment, made at an election rally Jharkhand, has triggered a massive political row over the last two days. "Narendra Modi had said 'Make in India' but nowadays wherever you look, it is 'Rape in India'," he had said. It created an uproar in parliament, with BJP leaders interpreting his comment as a "call for rape" and demanding that he apologise. The party also formally complained to the Election Commission, seeking action against the Congress leader. Protests disrupted the proceedings in both houses of parliament on the penultimate day of the winter session.