'Gandhi can't be father of nation where people are lynched'

A nation where people are lynched for possessing beef and intellectuals are killed for airing their views should not call Mahatma Gandhi its father, artist Subodh Kerkar said here on Wedneday.

Kerkar, who is director of the Gandhi Museum, Goa, was chief guest at an event organised by the Sewagram Ashram Pratishthan to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi.

"Mahatma Gandhi cannot be the father of a nation where people are lynched for keeping beef, intellectuals are murdered for raising voice," he said.

"How can Gandhi be the father of the nation which is acting against his teachings," he added.

"For Gandhi, social health had the same importance as personal health. Today our social health has been damaged," he said, referring to a recent incident where two Dalit children were beaten to death in Madhya Pradesh for defecating on road.

Referring to United States president Donald Trump's remark that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is like "father of the nation", Kerkar said, sarcastically, "He is right, Gandhi cannot be the father of this nation.