'Not from WhatsApp Univ...': Tushar Gandhi defends Rahul in Savarkar comment row

Author and activist Tushar Gandhi - Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson - on Friday defended Rahul Gandhi's remarks on VD Savarkar. Gandhi spoke of 'evidence in history' and said '... it is true Veer Savarkar was friends with the Britishers and that he apologised to the Britishers to move out of prison'. "It is not like we have taken it from WhatsApp university," he said.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is at the centre of a massive row after his comments this week about Savarkar - that 'he wrote mercy petitions to the British and accepted pension' and that he did so 'because of fear'. Gandhi - in Maharashtra at the head of the Bharat Jodo Yatra - doubled down on his comment Thursday, insisting, "I am very clear he helped the British."

Also read: ‘Just to seek attention’: Devendra Fadnavis on Rahul Gandhi's ‘Savarkar’ remark

"Veer Savarkar, in a letter written to the British, said 'Sir, I beg to remain your most obedient servant' and signed it. Savarkar helped the British. He betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Patel by signing the letter out of fear," the Congress MP said.

Earlier today, Tushar Gandhi marched briefly with Rahul Gandhi and the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The Congress tweeted an image of the two walking side-by-side and compared it to a similar image from the pages of history - of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi.

"It is not possible (that) when the country is in trouble... Gandhi-Nehru do not come out shoulder-to-shoulder. The journey from the freedom movement to the movement to unite India is a witness... We gave freedom to the country then and will unite the country today."

"Yatras have given birth to several revolutions over the years," Tushar Gandhi said today.

Also read: Sanjay Raut says Rahul Gandhi's Savarkar comment won't be accepted, Jairam Ramesh says all is well in alliance

"... when the country is against the construct that was set by our forefathers, it becomes important for people to realise that we have not given up," he added, news agency ANI said.