Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Fadnavis said, “I fully condemn the statement of Sambhaji Bhide. Mahatma Gandhi is the Father of the Nation and a ‘mahanayak’ of the freedom struggle. Making such a statement against a mahanayak is totally unacceptable”.
Fadnavis asserted that such remarks create anger among people and will not be tolerated.
He made it clear that Sambhaji Bhide or anyone else cannot make such statements, and the police will take appropriate action in the case.
Bhide was booked by Rajapeth police in Amravati after allegedly commenting on the lineage of Gandhiji during an event on Thursday.
Fadnavis also said Bhide runs an independent organisation (Shri Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan) and has no link to BJP, adding that opposition parties must not give the issue a political colour.
The Congress, which is condemning the statement of Bhide, must also criticise Rahul Gandhi for the comments against Hindutva ideologue late VD Savarkar, Fadnavis said.
The Congress has sought the arrest of Bhide and also slapping of sedition charge against him.
While Congress leaders Balasaheb Thorat and Prithviraj Chavan had raised the issue in the Assembly on Friday, state unit chief Nana Patole had claimed Bhide had links to the BJP-RSS and was being protected by them.
Patole had also said his party would hold protests across the state after the Monsoon session of the Assembly is over on August 4 in case Bhide is not arrested by then.
Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Clyde Crasto too had slammed the BJP claiming its “leniency” had emboldened “rabble rouser” Bhide who routinely came up with such offensive statements.
Meanwhile, some supporters of Bhide protested in Amravati on Sunday against Congress MLA and former minister Yashomati Thakur for alleged objectionable comments against the right wing activist.
They submitted a complaint to police seeking a case against Thakur.
(With inputs from PTI)
