BJP leader's comments against Gandhi much more than sedition: K Rahman Khan

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Congress leader and former Union minister K Rahman Khan on Tuesday said that BJP leader Anantkumar Hegde's insulting statement against Mahatma Gandhi is "much more than sedition".

"Anantkumar Hegde said that Mahatma Gandhi went to jail under an agreement with the British. It is an insult to the nation and is much more than sedition. It is shameful that while BJP government is celebrating 150 years of the Mahatma on one hand, on the other their cadres indulge in slander against Bapu," Khan told ANI.

"They are insulting the Muslims and asking them to go to Pakistan. I wonder how Prime Minister Narendra Modi is tolerating all this. Today, PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah should own the responsibility of such statements by their party leaders. I am sure the people of Delhi will give a befitting reply to them in the upcoming election," he added.

Earlier, BJP leader Anantkumar Hegde stoked a controversy after he attacked Mahatma Gandhi by calling the freedom struggle led by him a "drama" and also questioned as to how "such people" come to be called 'Mahatma' in India.

"None of these so-called leaders was beaten up by the cops even once. Their independence movement was a 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 had said.

While several Congress leaders have condemned his remark on the father of the nation, BJP leaders, too, have distanced themselves from it. However, Hedde has not yet regretted his comments.