Chennai: Mahatma Gandhi’s former secretary V. Kalyanam on Thursday condemned the ongoing ‘Gandhi vs Godse’ debate by Hindutva groups in the country. He also said that the proposal to install a statue of Godse was unacceptable, especially when Godse himself had accepted that what he did was wrong. “Godse said he was forced to kill Gandhi. But he admitted that he had committed a mistake.
So arguments in favour of Godse cannot be justified,” Kalyanam told reporters at the release of two stamps at the head post office here to commemorate the centenary year of Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India in 1915.He bemoaned the fact that the Congress government forgot Gandhi’s name after Independence. “Gandhi’s aim was to develop villages in India. But the Congress government did not focus on that but named roads after him and erected statues which he didn’t want,” Kalyanam said.
“Now if the BJP government also turns people’s hopes down, a revolution is likely to follow. If Gandhi were alive, witnessing these events, he would also take up the revolution,” he added. “The scams and corruption prevailing now were not present in the country during British rule.”
