by Muslim Mirror Staff

Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Friday termed Nathuram Godse a ‘saput’ (worthy son) of India and said the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi was not an invader like Mughal rulers Babar and Aurangzeb as he was born in India.

“If Godse was Gandhi’s assassin, he was also a worthy son of India,” Singh said.

“He (Godse) was born in India. He was not an invader like Aurangzeb and Babar. And those who feel happy to call themselves children of Babar cannot be true worthy sons of India,” he added.

The BJP leader made the statement in the backdrop of tensions in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur, where a right-wing protest against social media posts about Aurangzeb and 18th-century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan turned violent.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal criticized Singh for his remark that described Nathuram Godse as a “worthy son of India.”

Sibal commented that due to this statement, many people may not consider Giriraj Singh to be a ‘worthy son’ of the country himself, implying disagreement and disapproval of Singh’s statement.

Sibal said, “Giriraj Singh: Godse a ‘saput’ (worthy son) of India. Assassin, born in India unlike the Mughals. By this statement, many may not call you a ‘worthy son’of India.”

The former Union minister said, “Assassins cannot be distinguished by their origin!”

Reacting to Singh, JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar on Saturday said that by the metric Singh was following even Veerapan, Vijay Malya, Dawood Ibrahim and dacoits of Chambals are good sons of India.

Slamming Singh, Kumar said, “The killer of our father of the nation can never be a good son of the country.”

“Anybody calling Nathuram Godse a good son of India, is a blot on our country. How can a killer of our ‘Father of the Nation’ be a good son of the country? And if Godse is the good son of the country then Veerapan, dacoits of Chambal, Vijay Malya, Dawood Ibrahim too should be called so,” Kumar said.

“BJP leaders glorifying the murderer of Gandhiji reflects their ill-political culture. They lack the knowledge of history,” he added.

Who is Nathuram Godse?

Nathuram Godse was a political activist and a member of the Hindu nationalist organization, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), in India. He is infamously known for assassinating Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India’s independence movement, on January 30, 1948.

Godse held ideological differences with Gandhi, particularly regarding the partition of India and the treatment of Hindus in the newly formed Pakistan. He believed that Gandhi’s approach towards these issues was detrimental to Hindu interests, leading him to carry out the assassination.

Godse was arrested, put on trial, and ultimately executed on November 15, 1949. His actions have been widely condemned, and he remains a controversial figure in Indian history.