Cong, BJP spar over naming of Delhi college after VD Savarkar

The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clashed over the central government’s decision to name a Delhi University (DU) college after Hindutva idol Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to lay down the foundation stone on Friday.

While Congress leaders criticised the choice of name for Veer Savarkar College in Najafgarh, the BJP hit back alleging that the Congress now identifies itself only by “insulting great people”.

The Congress on Friday accused the BJP of “glorifying those who submitted mercy petitions to the British.”

Party Rajya Sabha MP Naseer Hussain said, “The BJP is legitimising those who collaborated with the British, ignoring freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the country… Many people lived for the country and hugely contributed to the freedom struggle. The BJP is giving legitimacy to those people who have written mercy petitions to the British and accepted pensions from them.”

The BJP hit back, with the party’s Delhi chief Virendra Sachdeva defending Savarkar as a freedom fighter who “fought for independence and was jailed.”

“Veer Savarkar was a freedom fighter. He fought a battle for the country’s independence and was jailed. He started the movement to burn foreign clothes under Tilak. The Congress never respects the freedom fighters. If Delhi University is naming its college in honour of Veer Savarkar, then we welcome it,” Sachdeva said.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused Congress of repeatedly insulting prominent figures, adding that even Indira Gandhi and Uddhav Thackeray had praised Savarkar.

“Insulting great people has become the identity of Congress. Rahul Gandhi has yet again insulted Veer Savarkar through one of his MPs, Naseer Hussain… I ask Naseer Hussain Ji, whether Indira Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, or Shivraj Singh Chouhan were also wrong since all of them have praised the greatness of Savarkar?” Poonawalla said.

Name college after Manmohan Singh: NSUI

The Congress’s students wing, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), on Friday called for the new college to be named after Congress leader and former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed away on December 26.

NSUI President Varun Choudhary wrote to PM Modi, highlighting Singh’s contributions to education and urging the establishment of institutions in his name.

“Dear Narendra Modi Ji, as you inaugurate a college in the name of VD Savarkar, NSUI demands the new DU college be named after former PM Dr Manmohan Singh Ji. He established numerous universities and brought the Central Universities Act. A central university must also be dedicated to his name. His visionary leadership in education transformed India. Let’s honour his legacy.”

DU has not yet commented on the controversy.