With the BJP pushing for Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar ‘Veer’ Savarkar to get the Bharat Ratna, Karnataka Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao on Friday dubbed him as a “controversial” figure linking him with the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

“Those who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi...Savarkar was in contact with them. He was also accused in the case. There were documents for this. He was acquitted, that’s different. But his role in the killing of Gandhi is not questionable. He was suspicious and there are still doubts,” Rao told reporters. 

“Savarkar is a controversial figure,” he added. “He was part of the freedom struggle. But after he was jailed, there are documents to show that he wrote letters to the British, expressing his loyalty to them, praising them and seeking his release saying he will not fight against the British,” he said. 

“At one point, he fought the British. Then he surrendered. After the British released him (from prison), he didn’t participate in the freedom struggle and never spoke against them,” Rao said, opposing the idea of conferring the Bharat Ratna on Savarkar. 

The BJP has proposed Veer Savarkar's name among others for the Bharat Ratna in its manifesto for the Maharashtra Assembly polls.