Members of Parliament belonging to constituent parties of the National Democratic Alliance met in New Delhi today (August 24, 2004). They unanimously adopted the following resolution, which is being released to the media by Shri George Fernandes, Convenor of NDA.
The decision of the UPA government not to restore the plaque carrying a patriotic quotation of Swatantrya Veer (Freedom Fighter) Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, at the Cellular Jail memorial in Port Blair, which has been removed at the specific instruction of Petroleum Minister Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, is highly unfortunate. If the original decision to remove the plaque was itself condemnable, the government has compounded its guilt by its adamant refusal to atone for it in spite of widespread protests both within and without Parliament.
The Cellular Jail in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands is inseparably linked to the sacred memory of all those revolutionaries and martyrs of the Freedom Struggle who were incarcerated there by the British rulers during the latter half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. Veer Savarkar was imprisoned for his revolutionary activities and spent 11 long years in solitary confinement in this jail. Last year, under the NDA government a trust set up by the Indian Oil Corporation, presided over by the Petroleum Minister had resolved to erect a suitable memorial at the Cellular Jail to commemorate the sacrifices of all its inmates. Savarkar's plaque was one of the four to be installed at the memorial, as per an approved design prepared by the architect. The others carried the quotations of Bahadur Shah Zafar, Madanlal Dhingra and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
Shri Aiyar's diktat to order the removal of Savarkar's plaque is indefensible as it insults the memory of not only Savarkar but also of all the freedom fighters who collectively sanctified the Cellular Jail with their patriotic sacrifices. The UPA government's decision to stick by Shri Aiyar's arrogant and intolerant action is nothing but an attempt to defend the indefensible.
The NDA recognizes that patriots of diverse faiths and professing diverse ideologies participated in India's Freedom Movement. Sometimes, there were differences amongst the participants in the Freedom Struggle. It is also natural for people today to have disagreements over the paths chosen by different freedom fighters. However, the NDA believes that such disagreements should not become a pretext for showing disrespect - much less official disrespect -- for any one of them.
It is worth emphasizing here that countless Congress and other nationalist leaders in the past have acknowledged Veer Savarkar's contribution to the Freedom Struggle. Former Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi had praised him as a "by-word for daring and patriotism, who was cast in the mould of classic revolutionaries and countless people drew inspiration from him". Her government had even released a commemorative stamp in his honour. This only shows the degeneration of today's Congress party, presided over by a person of foreign origin who has no understanding of India's plural history.
We strongly urge the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, to acknowledge that his government has committed a wrong and to set it right it by immediately re-installing Savarkar's plaque at the Cellular Jail.
The decision of the UPA government not to restore the plaque carrying a patriotic quotation of Swatantrya Veer (Freedom Fighter) Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, at the Cellular Jail memorial in Port Blair, which has been removed at the specific instruction of Petroleum Minister Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, is highly unfortunate. If the original decision to remove the plaque was itself condemnable, the government has compounded its guilt by its adamant refusal to atone for it in spite of widespread protests both within and without Parliament.
The Cellular Jail in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands is inseparably linked to the sacred memory of all those revolutionaries and martyrs of the Freedom Struggle who were incarcerated there by the British rulers during the latter half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. Veer Savarkar was imprisoned for his revolutionary activities and spent 11 long years in solitary confinement in this jail. Last year, under the NDA government a trust set up by the Indian Oil Corporation, presided over by the Petroleum Minister had resolved to erect a suitable memorial at the Cellular Jail to commemorate the sacrifices of all its inmates. Savarkar's plaque was one of the four to be installed at the memorial, as per an approved design prepared by the architect. The others carried the quotations of Bahadur Shah Zafar, Madanlal Dhingra and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
Shri Aiyar's diktat to order the removal of Savarkar's plaque is indefensible as it insults the memory of not only Savarkar but also of all the freedom fighters who collectively sanctified the Cellular Jail with their patriotic sacrifices. The UPA government's decision to stick by Shri Aiyar's arrogant and intolerant action is nothing but an attempt to defend the indefensible.
The NDA recognizes that patriots of diverse faiths and professing diverse ideologies participated in India's Freedom Movement. Sometimes, there were differences amongst the participants in the Freedom Struggle. It is also natural for people today to have disagreements over the paths chosen by different freedom fighters. However, the NDA believes that such disagreements should not become a pretext for showing disrespect - much less official disrespect -- for any one of them.
It is worth emphasizing here that countless Congress and other nationalist leaders in the past have acknowledged Veer Savarkar's contribution to the Freedom Struggle. Former Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi had praised him as a "by-word for daring and patriotism, who was cast in the mould of classic revolutionaries and countless people drew inspiration from him". Her government had even released a commemorative stamp in his honour. This only shows the degeneration of today's Congress party, presided over by a person of foreign origin who has no understanding of India's plural history.
We strongly urge the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, to acknowledge that his government has committed a wrong and to set it right it by immediately re-installing Savarkar's plaque at the Cellular Jail.
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