Sorry for speaking the truth: Minister after his remarks on Savarkar spark row

Senior Congress leader and Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Thursday remained firm on his previous remarks on Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and said he was “sorry for speaking the truth”.
A political controversy erupted after Rao, while addressing an event in Bengaluru to mark Gandhi Jayanti, claimed that Savarkar was not only a meat-eater, who consumed beef, but also propagated the practice publicly.
“Once again, sorry for speaking the truth!” Rao said in a post on X after his remarks triggered a political stir and BJP took strong objection to it.
“Savarkar, a ‘Chitpavan Brahmin’, used to eat meat. He was a non-veg eater and he was not against cow slaughter. He was modern in a way. Some say that he used to eat beef as well. As a Brahmin, he used to eat meat and was openly propagating eating meat. So he had that thinking,” the minister claimed earlier in the day.
His remarks drew sharp criticism from the BJP, which questioned why the Congress was always targeting Hindus.
“Congress’ God is Tipu Sultan. Why are you Congress people always targeting Hindus? Why not Muslims? The Congress mindset is like this. Hindus have given a verdict in the elections. Every Hindu will teach them a lesson,” BJP leader R Ashok said.
Even Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attacked the grand old party and said that Rahul Gandhi began defaming Savarkar and now others are just taking his narrative forward.
“These people do not know anything about Savarkar. They insult Savarkar ji again and again. Savarkar ji has expressed his views on cows very well. He has said that the cow helps the farmer from his birth till his death, hence we have given the status of a god to the cow,” Fadnavis said.