BJP leader says Gandhi was father of Pakistan, not India's Rashtra-pita, party suspends him

Correspondent

NewsBits.in

BHOPAL: A BJP leader has created sensation with his statment that Mahatma Gandhi was Pakistan's father of nation, not India's Rashtrapita.

Anil Saumitra, a spokesperson for BJP in Madhya Pradesh, said that Gandhi was Father of Nation, but of Pakistan (not India).

Saumitra, a convener of the media and communications department of the party, also said that India had crores of sons like him (Gandhi), some worthy and others unworthy.

The statement came as a shocker for the party that was already facing embarassment over its Bhopal Lok Sabha candidate Pragya Thakur's eulogy for Nathuram Godse. She had said that Godse was a patriot and will always remain so. 

Saumitra who hails from Bihar, has been associated with the RSS' mouthpiece Panchjanya in the past. Initially, he wrote it on Facebook and later talking to journalists, defended his statement. But the damage had been done.

After the statement, BJP state leadership suspended him from his post and he has been given seven days to give an explanation about the statement. He remained firm on his statement though a day later, the post was deleted.

Of late, there have been growing voices from within the right-wing in support of Godse. Though BJP-RSS leaders vehmently deny any support to Godse, it's clear that there is an attempt to belittle the contribution of Gandhi.