Kotdwar: BJP Lansdowne MLA Dilip Rawat on Saturday issued a clarification regarding his comments on freedom fighter Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali, saying they appeared incomplete on social media.
Rawat said that if his statement hurts the dignity and self-respect of Garhwalis, he is ready to apologize “a million times”.
A video of Rawat recently went viral social media in which he was heard to say, “An intelligent person can never start a revolution because one analyzes things, and Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali was not intelligent at all.” Following the controversy, the MLA in a press conference said here that his statement was circulated on social media in a distorted manner and that his intention was only to highlight the struggle, revolutionary thought, resistance and his unique contribution to the country’s independence of Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali.
Rawat recalled his statement made during the program in Dehradun a few days ago, saying that he spoke 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 the time, the story could have been different.
Rawat further said that he also cited the example of Vijay Sundriyal, a well-known social worker and entrepreneur from Rikhnikhal, Pauri, who, with struggle and determination in the face of adversity, created an industry based on fruit processing that played an important role in creating local employment and preventing migration.
Rawat said his statement was in no way meant to offend the dignity or honor of Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali.
“If my statement has even slightly hurt his dignity, self-respect or honor, I am ready to apologize not once, but a million times,” he said. He also criticized the Congress party, which attacked him for his statement, saying it has no moral right to apologize to him and that it should be the grand old party, not him, that should apologise.
Citing an article published 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 Tiwari, Go back! He alleged that a Congress worker hit the cart, causing Garhwali to fall, following which he was first taken to Kotdwar Hospital and then to Delhi.
The MLA alleged that after this incident, Garhwali was no longer able to stand and eventually died. He said that Congress was morally responsible for this incident.
