Gwalior: Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) celebrated the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as 'Godse-Apte Smriti Diwas' and paid tribute to his assassin Nathuram Godse and a co-accused in the Gandhi murder trial, Narayan Apte. In the programme, five workers including Sant Kalicharan were honoured with the 'Godse-Apte Bharat Ratna' award by giving 'Shawl' and 'Shrifal'.
In the absence of Saint Kalicharan, Hindu Mahasabha member Pramod Loh Patra took the award. Earlier, last December, Kalicharan was alleged for making derogatory remarks against the Mahatma during a Dharma Sansad held in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur.
Hindu Mahasabha's national vice president Jaiveer Bharadwaj said, "We 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, 1948."
Bharadwaj claimed the Hindu Mahasabha had made a huge contribution to the freedom struggle. People should not be misled into believing that India got independence due to the charkha of Mahatma Gandhi, he said. Bharadwaj alleged that Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) didn't inform the people about the sacrifice made by seers and the seven lakh people who lost their lives during the freedom struggle.
No action has been taken by the district administration and the government on the Hindu Mahasabha thus it fearlessly hails Nathuram Godse, the killer of Bapu, and praises him.
Earlier, last November, the Mahasabha had said it will sculpt a statue of Nathuram Godse using the soil brought from Haryana's Ambala Central Jail, where he was hanged to death in 1949. In November 2017, Gwalior district authorities had confiscated Godse's bust foiling the right-wing outfit's attempt to turn its office into a 'temple' of Godse.
On the matter, Madhya Pradesh BJP president VD Sharma said that it was the incumbent BJP government at the Centre which has taken Mahatma Gandhi's work to the people. "There is a process of providing 'Bharat Ratna' by the Centre. It can't be given to anybody standing on the road," he said, adding that there is freedom of expression in the country.
Meanwhile, on January 19, Thane Police in Maharashtra arrested Kalicharan from Chhattisgarh in connection with a case registered against him in Thane for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Mahatma Gandhi.
(With agency inputs)
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