Godse was no hero, says RSS ideologue Vaidya

New Delhi: Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse was no hero, RSS ideologue MG Vaidya said on Sunday while criticising Hindu groups for commemorating his death anniversary as “Shaurya Diwas” (bravery day). Vaidya further said he was opposed to honouring and showing respect to Gandhi’s assassin.

“I don’t know which organisation it is. But I am against honouring and giving respect to Nathuram Godse. He is a murderer. The fight of thoughts should be fought with thoughts only. It is not right to kill anyone as was done by Godse,” Vaidya said.

Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse was no hero, RSS ideologue MG Vaidya said on Sunday while criticising Hindu groups for commemorating his death anniversary as “Shaurya Diwas” (bravery day). Vaidya further said he was opposed to honouring and showing respect to Gandhi’s assassin.

“I don’t know which organisation it is. But I am against honouring and giving respect to Godse. He is a murderer. The fight of thoughts should be fought with thoughts only. It is not right to kill anyone as was done by Godse,” Vaidya told ANI. Groups such as the Hindu Mahasabha, Hindu Sena and Maharana Pratap Battalion marked Godse’s death anniversary as “Shaurya Diwas” during an event held at Panvel near Mumbai.

Members of the Sanatan Sanstha, which came into the limelight after one of its activists was accused of murdering rationalist Govind Pansare, also participated in the ceremony to eulogise Godse. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power last year, several Hindu groups have backed moves to refurbish Godse’s legacy.

But Vaidya said Godse’s act of killing Gandhi was an insult to Hindutva. “Some people think that by doing so (killing Gandhi), they have encouraged Hindutva, but that is wrong. In fact, they have insulted Hindutva. I think it was an evil to kill Gandhiji, who was such a respected figure in India,” he said. The comments by the 92-year-old Vaidya assume significance as he is considered one of the foremost ideologues of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The Hindu Mahasabha had made it to the headlines last year when it announced its plans to build temples for Godse. The organisation marks Godse’s death anniversary as “Shaurya Divas” across Maharashtra every year. The Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha launched a website “Nathuram Godse – The Real Forgotten Hero” on Sunday morning to inform the public about his “good deeds”.

Godse, a Hindu nationalist, shot and killed Gandhi on January 30, 1948. “I do say that my shots were fired at the person whose policy and action had brought rack and ruin and destruction to millions of Hindus,” Godse, a member of the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha, told the court during his trial. Eight men were convicted of murdering the Father of the Nation by a special court after a trial that lasted more than a year. Godse and co-conspirator Narayan Apte were hanged on November 15, 1949.