The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The complainant of the court case filed against Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for allegedly “defaming” Hindutva icon V.D. Savarkar has objected to the former’s request to bring historical facts and detailed evidence to back up his statements.
Satyaki Ashok Savarkar, a relative of V.D. Savarkar and the complainant in the case has objected to Gandhi’s plea to convert the nature of the trial in the case from a summary trial to a summons trial, reported Bar and Bench.
“The accused is again deliberately trying to divert the matter by raising irrelevant arguments about Veer Savarkar’s contributions during the Indian freedom struggle. The accused has raised issues regarding certain historical facts, which are irrelevant to the core subject matter of this case,” the complainant has said in his affidavit filed in the court.
The case pertains to a speech delivered by Gandhi in London in March 2023 in which he had reportedly referred to Savarkar’s writings about an incident where Savarkar, along with others, allegedly assaulted a Muslim man –a situation Savarkar supposedly found “pleasurable.”
Satyaki Savarkar had filed the defamation case against Gandhi in 2023, claiming that no such incident about Savarkar is mentioned in his works.
“The accused is again deliberately trying to divert the matter by raising irrelevant arguments about Veer Savarkar’s contributions during the Indian freedom struggle. The accused has raised issues regarding certain historical facts, which are irrelevant to the core subject matter of this case,” the reply of Satyaki Savarkar states.
Earlier this month, the Pune court where the case is being heard had granted Gandhi permanent exemption from appearing in the defamation case.
Also Read: Narendra Modi’s Regard for Savarkar is an Affront to Gandhi, Sardar Patel and Ambedkar
Gandhi was exempted from appearing in the case after his counsel moved an application saying there could be a threat to Gandhi’s life especially when Pune was a hometown of Nathuram Godse. The application also stated that Gandhi’s father and grandfather were assassinated by “bad elements” of the society.
A new book by Arun Shourie, The New Icon: Savarkar and the Facts, reveals details about Savarkar that may shock his followers and surprise his critics.
Shourie’s book has established that Savarkar was not a cow-worshiper and wasn’t against beef-eating. He lied about Subhas Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi, claiming that he had advised the former to escape from India, form the Indian National Army and declare complete independence for Hindustan and asserting that “Gandhi ji and myself lived together as friends” in London in 1908, when Gandhi wasn’t even in the city at that time.