Kotdwar, Jul 4 (PTI) BJP Lansdowne MLA Dilip Rawat on Saturday issued a clarification on his remarks about freedom fighter Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali, saying that they were shown incompletely on social media.
Rawat said if his statement hurt the dignity and self-respect of Garhwalis, he is ready to apologise “a million times”.
A video of Rawat recently went viral on social media in which he was heard saying, “An intelligent person can never start a revolution, because one analyses things, and Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali was not intelligent at all.” Following the controversy, the MLA at a press conference said here that his statement was shared on social media in a distorted manner, and that his intention was only to highlight Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali’s struggle, revolutionary thinking, resistance, and his unique contribution to the country’s independence.
Rawat recalled his statement made during the programme in Dehradun a few days ago, saying that he talked about how sometimes people who think too much before taking action fail to make decisions.
He said that in this context, he cited the example of Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali, who immediately refused to obey the British government’s order to open fire on protesters in Peshawar on April 23, 1930.
He said that if he (Garhwali) had thought more carefully at that time, history might have been different.
Rawat further said that he also cited the example of Vijay Sundriyal, a social worker and renowned entrepreneur from Rikhnikhal, Pauri, who, through struggle and determination in the face of adversity, established a fruit processing-based industry that played a significant role in creating local employment and preventing migration.
Rawat said that his statement was in no way intended to hurt the dignity or honour of Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali.
“If my statement has hurt his dignity, self-respect, or honour even slightly, I am ready to apologise not once, but a million times,” he said. He also criticised the Congress party, which attacked him over his statement, saying it has no moral right to demand an apology from him, and that it should be the grand old party, not him, that should apologise.
Citing a published article by senior Kotdwar writer, social worker, and Congress leader Kunwar Singh Karmath, Rawat claimed that in 1979, when Narayan Dutt Tiwari visited Kotdwar, Garhwali was not allowed to meet him, in protest of which he stood on a cart in Malviya Park and shouted slogans, “ND Tiwari Go Back!” He alleged that a Congress worker kicked the cart, causing Garhwali to fall, after which he was taken first to Kotdwar Hospital and then to Delhi.
The MLA claimed that after this incident, Garhwali was never able to stand again and eventually passed away. He said that Congress was morally responsible for this incident. PTI DPT KSI KSI
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