Bengaluru (Karnataka): Former Union minister and BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde courted yet another controversy by terming the freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi against the British regime as a "drama".
He also went on to question the epithet 'Mahatma' that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was bestowed with by his followers.
While addressing a public event in Karnataka's Bengaluru on Saturday, the Lok Sabha MP from Uttara Kannada claimed that the entire freedom movement was "staged with the consent and support of the British".
"None of these so-called leaders were beaten up by the cops even once. Their independence movement was one big drama. It was staged by these leaders with the approval of the British. It was not a genuine fight. It was an adjustment freedom struggle," he said.
Also read: Coronavirus: 3 persons with symptoms admitted to hospital in Jaipur
The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also termed Mahatma Gandhi's hunger strikes and satyagraha a "drama".
"People supporting Congress keep saying that India got independence because of the fast unto death and satyagraha. This is not true. The British did not leave the country because of satyagraha," he said.
"Britishers gave independence out of frustration. My blood boils when I read history. Such people become Mahatma in our country," Hegde said in his concluding statement.
