Beware of Godse followers: CM on Gandhi Jayanti

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took a dig at believers of “Godse’s ideology” referring to Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse.

He made the comments during a Gandhi Jayanti celebration held at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Monday. He was referring to right wing extremist groups like Hindu Mahasabha who regard Godse as a hero.

Hindu Mahasabha celebrates January 30, the day on which Gandhi was assassinated as ‘Shaurya Divas’ (Bravery Day).

“It was Rabindranath Tagore who gave him the title Mahatma. Subhash Chandra Bose called him the Father of the Nation. He worked for peace and harmony in the country till the end of his life but he died because of the fanaticism of Nathuram Godse. It is regrettable that there are people who worship Nathuram in this country. We should beware of such people,” Siddaramaiah said.

Godse assassinated the 78-year-old Gandhi on January 30, 1948 at Birla House, which was rechristened Gandhi Smriti.

Godse is narrated to have approached Gandhi on the pretext of greeting him and fired at him at close range, shooting him in the upper thigh, abdomen and chest with a revolver.

Godse and accomplice Narayan Apte were executed on November 15, 1949. On January 30, 2019, Hindu Mahasabha national secretary Puja Shakun Pandey recreated Gandhi’s assassination by shooting his effigy, sparking outrage.