Savarkar wrote about child marriage before Gandhi addressed it, says Union minister

New Delhi [India], Feb 26 (ANI): Claiming that freedom fighter Veer Savarkar was deliberately sidelined by the previous governments, the Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel said the time has come to give Savarkar the respect and place in history that he deserves.

The minister who was speaking at the death anniversary of Savarkar also claimed that Savarkar acted and wrote on various social evils like child marriages before Mahatma Gandhi did.

The minister, exercising caution, said that he isn't comparing two great personalities but history should put facts right.

"I don't want to get into the debate of whether Gandhi said it first or Savarkar. But when Savarkar wrote poem on child marriage, he did so before Gandhi spoke on it. Savarkar must have acted against it and then wrote about it. This is history," he said.

"I don't want to compare two great personalities but if someone makes wrong claims, we need to look back at history and dates. There is evidence to support our claim," the minister added.

He was speaking at an event organised by Savarkar Darshan Pratisthan of which many BJP leaders are members. Former Gujarat Governor OP Kohli is its president.

He also took a potshot at Rahul Gandhi's controversial comment when he said that he is not Rahul Savarkar that he would seek apology for his comments. This was a direct attack on Savarkar as Congress had belittled Savarkar by stating that he had sought an apology from Britishers when imprisoned in Andaman and Nicobar.

"Recently, someone said that he isn't Savarkar. He can't be Savarkar. Because to know him you need to know about dedication and commitment towards your country, " said Patel.

The minister also advocated the use of an evaluation system for all great personalities so that everyone gets a fair chance to get acknowledged.

"If they are to be evaluated, the method should be the same for everyone. The scrutiny should be for all for being good and bad. And if questions are asked one should not cry foul and say we are disrespecting them. We should not feel hesitant in acknowledging that Savarkar hasn't got the respect and stature in history he deserves," added the minister.

The minister said that time has come that Savarkar is handed over to the next generation with all the respect he deserves.