Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday claimed freedom fighter Veer Savarkar worked on Britishers’ agenda of ‘divide and rule’ after coming out of jail in 1925 and he was the first to come up with the ”two-nation theory”.
He was replying to a query on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s remark on Tuesday that it was on Mahatma Gandhi’s request that Savarkar wrote mercy petitions to the British.
“…Tell me one thing, where was Mahatma Gandhi at that time? He was in Wardha (Maharashtra) and where was he (Savarkar)? He was in Cellular Jail (in Andaman and Nicobar Islands).
”How would they have contacted (each other)? He filed mercy petitions from jail… not once but half a dozen times,” Baghel told reporters at the Police Lines helipad here.
The Congress CM accused Savarkar of colluding with the British to further their ‘divide and rule’ policy.
“After apologising to Britishers, he continued to be with them and never spoke a single word against them. He worked on Britishers’ agenda of ‘divide and rule’. He was the first one to suggest the two-nation theory after coming out of jail in 1925,” he added.
”Savarkar talked about Hindustan and Pakistan in 1925 and later the Muslim League in 1937. Both communal forces had created background for the Partition of the country (in 1947),” Baghel added. (PTI)
