Congress demands arrest of Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide for alleged remarks against Mahatma Gandhi

The Congress MLAs on Wednesday demanded action against radical Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide for his alleged controversial remarks against Mahatma Gandhi.During the Maharashtra Assembly proceedings, which resumed after a four-day break, the legislators criticised the ruling dispensation for ‘supporting’ Mr. Bhide and not arresting him.

Mr. Bhide, who heads the fringe Sangli-based outfit ‘Shiv Pratisthan’, was linked to the 2018 Bhima-Koregaon clashes, and recently made remarks about Mahatma Gandhi’s lineage during his speech in Amravati. Fadnavis on Wednesday said insult of national icons will not be tolerated and said that police will collect voice samples of right-wing activist Manohar alias Sambhaji Bhide for his alleged controversial remarks against Mahatma Gandhi, reported PTI.Speaking at the Assembly, Fadnavis added that a case will be filed against Congress mouthpiece ‘Shidori’ for objectionable writings against Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar.

Bhide made an activist (of his outfit) read the controversial portion from a book ‘The Koran and the Fakir’. No recording of that meeting is available hence police will take voice samples (of Bhide),” Fadnavis said.An FIR was registered against Bhide, the founder of the Shri Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan outfit, for allegedly making offensive remarks about Mahatma Gandhi’s lineage while addressing a gathering at Bharat Mangal Hall in the Badnera Road area of Amravati on Thursday during his Vidarbha tour. Bhide is yet to be arrested.