The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks about Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar could cause a rift within the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra, reported The Hindu.

Gandhi on Tuesday had criticised Savarkar during the Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra, which has reached Maharashtra. “He [Savarkar] was jailed in Andaman for two-three years,” Gandhi had said, according to PTI. “He started writing mercy petitions.”

The Congress reiterated his remarks on Thursday in Maharashtra’s Akola city. He claimed that Svarkar was afraid of the British.

Raut on Friday said that Gandhi should focus on issues like unemployment and inflation and stop talking about Savarkar.

“At a time when Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra has been getting enthusiastic response across the country, especially in Maharashtra, there was no reason for him to rake up the issue of Savarkar,” Raut said, reported The Hindu. “It has come as a jolt not just to us but the Congress leaders in Maharashtra have received a setback. His [Rahul’s] remarks have proved embarrassing for them as well.”

However, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that even though Congress and the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction held contrasting views on Savarkar, it will not affect the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance, reported PTI.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance comprises Shiv Sena, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. It was in power in Maharashtra from November 2019 to June 2022.

“Gandhi had mentioned Savarkar in the context of how tribal leader Birsa Munda did not compromise with the British while Savarkar signed a mercy petition, which is a fact,” Ramesh said on Friday. “It was a fact that Nathuram Godse [Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin] was influenced by Savarkar. It was Savarkar’s ideology that was behind the killing of Mahatma Gandhi.”

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Police on Friday filed a defamation case against Gandhi for his remarks on Savarkar. The case was lodged on a complaint filed by Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena leader Vandana Suhas Dongre on Thursday.

This faction of the Shiv Sena is led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Shiv Sena split in June after Shinde and a group of party MLAs rebelled against the former Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state.