In an ironic incident, the Congress, which has always been a critic of the glorification of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse, has welcomed Godse worshipper and ex-Hindu Mahasabha leader Babulal Chaurasia into the party.
Chaurasia was inducted into the Congress on Wednesday ahead of the Madhya Pradesh Civic Body Elections by Former MP CM Kamal Nath. He called himself a born Congressman and said that he is now ‘reunited with his family after being stuck with the Hindu Mahasabha’.
Babulal Chaurasia who was earlier a part of the Hindu Mahasabha had organized a program ‘Nathuram Godse’s 70th Sacrifice Day’ in 2019, where he garlanded Godse’s photograph, performed aarti, and demanded that his final court statement be included in school syllabus.
When asked about this, Chaurasia claimed that the Hindu Mahasabha ‘kept him in the dark’ and misled him. He said that he wasn’t aware that the idol he was worshipping was of Godse.
The induction of Chaurasia into the party has drawn discussions over the party’s hypocrisy over its stand on Godse. Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has often drawn contrast between Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse and proclaimed his party as a follower of the Mahatma.
The Congress has also always been the first to criticize the BJP of being ‘Godse Bhakts’. In 2017, Kamal Nath had heavily criticized the BJP and CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan after the Hindu Mahasabha established a library dedicated to Nathuram Godse in Gwalior. He had also asked them to clarify the ideology they follow, saying “If the BJP follows the ideals of Gandhi, it should immediately stop such activities.”
Now, however, the Congress seems to be suffering from an ideological crisis itself, with first slamming the BJP and RSS of being followers of Godse and now having no problem welcoming his eulogizer into the party with open arms.
