On Gandhi’s death anniversary, Hindu Mahasabha pays tribute to Godse

On a day the nation observed Mahatma Gandhis death anniversary the Hindu Mahasabha on Sunday paid tribute to his assassin Nathuram Godse and a coaccused in the Gandhi murder trial Narayan Apte in Madhya Pradeshs Gwalior by observing GodseApte Smriti DiwasThe rightwing organisation also bestowed ldquoGodseApte Bharat Ratnardquo in Gwalior upon jailed religious leader Kalicharan Maharaj who was arrested last December for allegedly making derogatory remarks against the Mahatma during a Dharma Sansad held in Chhattisgarhrsquos capital Raipur and four leaders of the MahasabhaldquoWe performed aarti of Bharat Mata with a resolve to integrate India with Pakistan to make it Akhand Bharat We are observing January 30 as the Godse Apte Smriti Diwas day to express our anger over their arrest on January 30 1948rdquo Hindu Mahasabhas national vice president Jaiveer Bharadwaj told PTI over the phone from GwaliorThe country on Sunday paid tribute to the Father of the Nation on his 74th death anniversaryBharadwaj said the Mahasabha has honoured Kalicharan Maharaj and four leaders of Hindu Mahasabha with the ldquoGodseApte Bharat Ratnardquo in GwaliorSince Kalicharan Maharaj is in jail the honour was received by Pramod Lohpatre on his behalf Bharadwaj saidHe blamed Mahatma Gandhi for the partition of India in 1947 which he said led to the killing and displacement of lakhs of HindusTalking to reporters after attending the programme in Mahasabhas office in the Daulatganj area of Gwalior Bharadwaj claimed the Hindu Mahasabha had made a huge contribution to the freedom struggleldquoPeople should not be misled into believing that India got independence due to charkha spinning wheel popularised by Mahatma Gandhirdquo he saidBharadwaj alleged that Congress and BJP didnt inform the people about the sacrifice made by seers and seven lakh people who lost their lives during the freedom struggleMahasabha pays tribute and respects all the revolutionaries he addedLast November the Hindu Mahasabha had said it will sculpt a statue of Nathuram Godse using the soil brought from Haryanas Ambala Central Jail where he was hanged to death in 1949In November 2017 Gwalior district authorities had confiscated Godses bust foiling the rightwing outfits attempt to turn its office into a temple of GodseWhen asked about the Mahasabha honouring Kalicharan and others with Godse Apte Bharat Ratna Madhya Pradesh BJP president VD Sharma said that it was the incumbent BJP government at the Centre which has taken Mahatma Gandhis work to the peopleldquoThere is a process of providing Bharat Ratna the highest civilian honour in India by the Centre It cant be given to anybody standing on the road he said adding that there is freedom of expression in the countryOn January 19 Thane Police in Maharashtra arrested Kalicharan from Chhattisgarh in connection with a case registered against him for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Mahatma GandhiThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever