Sakshi Maharaj takes U-turn, says Godse not a nationalist

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Sakshi Maharaj on Thursday backtracked from his earlier remark that Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse was a nationalist, saying he does not see the latter as a patriot.

"If I have said anything by mistake, I withdraw my statement. Godse was not a nationalist," said Sakshi Maharaj.

"If anybody wants to worship Godse, I cannot stop him. It is the work of the Central Government and the state government to stop it...... But I do not see Godse as a nationalist," he added.

The Unnao MP had earlier today stirred a hornet's nest by stating that Godse was equally a patriot and a nationalist, and should not be seen as a traitor or considered as one.

I believe Nathuram Godse was also a nationalist and Mahatma Gandhiji also did a lot for the nation. I don't have any detail of what event is being organized," Maharaj had told ANI here.

"If for some reason he committed a mistake, he was not a traitor," he added.