Gandhi would have laughed at 'chatur baniya' remark, says his grandson

Eric Barnett

'Bahut Chatur Baniya': What Amit Shah Called Mahatma Gandhi

BJP National President Amit Shah addresses a meeting of party MPs, MLAs, State Office Bearers, District Presidents and Mandal Presidents in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

In New Delhi, party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Shah's remarks were "an insult to freedom fighters, their sacrifices and also to Gandhi".

Referring to Mahatma Gandhi's mercantile caste, Amit Shah said that Gandhi was a "chatur baniya" (clever merchant) who knew that Congress does not have the proper base or principles, which is why he recommended the dissolution of the Congress. It was merely a special goal vehicle to secure freedom. "This shows the character and ideology of the ruling party and its president".

Surjewala criticised Shah, for refering to the freedom movement as a business model.

According to reports, Shah said that Mahatma Gandhi even contemplated dissolving the Congress post independence. "But in reality, before independence, Britishers used RSS and Hindu Mahasabha as a special goal vehicle (SPV) for partition of the country", Surjewala alleged. He also said the Congress had never been a party based on principles and it was merely a "special goal vehicle" to secure freedom.

The Congress and JDU has asked for an apology from the BJP President. The BJP president who is now on his 3-day visit to Chattisgarh made this comment on Mahatma Gandhi when he was in an event where a number of "eminent persons" of the state were present.

While West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed the comments "uncalled for and unethical", CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy demanded that Shah seeks an apology for making the "derogatory" remarks.

The parties also alleged that the comment "exposed" the BJP's "contempt" for the father of the nation.

He added that Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, was a "bahut chatur baniya" and he very well knew the weaknesses of the Congress and thus suggested its disintegration after the country got independence.

Taking a swipe at Shah, the Trinamool Congress supremo claimed that no one should think of themselves as a superpower just because they are at the helm.

Addressing a group of "eminent persons" in Chattisgarh, he also said the Congress party was "merely an instrument of gaining independence".