About Gandhi Jayanti, Nathuram Godse was trending on Twitter | Image Credit: Reuiters / Twitter
On January 30, 1948, Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a religious extremist and political activist, shot Gandhi three times in the chest at point-blank range.
- News18.com
- Last update: October 2, 2020 6:34 PM IST
- FOLLOW US:
On the 151st anniversary of the birth of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a man who dedicated himself to the dharma of non-violence and love, the ghosts of past hatred refuse to be extinguished.
Even as Indians were celebrating Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday on October 2 with tributes and heartfelt messages, trends on Twitter showed that many still held a candle for Nathuram Godse, the man who shot Bapu.
On January 30, 1948, Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a Hindu extremist and political activist, shot Gandhi three times in the chest at point-blank range.
Vinayak, who was once a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Hindu Mahasabha, was sentenced to death on November 8, 1949, after a year of explosive court hearings. He was hanged on November 15 of the same year.
While Godse’s act has been widely criticized by the world, many have cited him time and again fairly, including BJP MP Pragya Thakur, who in 2019 raised hell after referring to the killer as “deshbhakt.”
Even as BJO distanced itself from the comment and Gandhi’s birthday was honored by President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who on Friday paid floral tributes to the Rajghat of Delhi, where Gandhi is buried, Godse was trending on social media. all day.
Many of the tweets notably came from bot accounts that other days tweeted about “Justice for Sushant,” following the suicide death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
He was not a terrorist, he was a murderer like bhagat singh who fought for the cause of India.
– Nisha_Young_Jain (@ Nisha_Young2809) October 2, 2020
It bothered me to see the trend of ‘Godse Zindabad’ on Twitter on the anniversary of the birth of #Mahatma Gandhi And when I went to check it, I discovered that it was none other than the Bot Account created to ask justice for Sushant Singh Rajput. Aaj Ke Din Apna DP Toh Change Kar Dete! pic.twitter.com/syhAnYXPrY
– Rais Shaikh (@rais_shk) October 2, 2020
Many took to the microblogging site to highlight trends, including the 55,000 tweets under the hashtag #Godse and “Nathuram Godse Zindabad.” Congressman Shashi Tharoor said: “We know who has allowed this trend and whose face is hypocritically masked. I have no doubt that Gandhi’s India will prevail over Godse’s.”
As the world celebrates the anniversary of Gandhi’s birth, supporters of the ruling party celebrate his murderer Nathuram Godse in their own country. Gandhi’s Tendencies at No. 2, Godse at No. 1 https://t.co/lxrp21DaxD
– Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) October 2, 2020
Gandhi said: Be the change you want to see in the world. Quickly, people started trending at Nathuram Godse.
– Jyoti Yadav (@jyotiyadaav) October 2, 2020
This is not the first time that Godse’s name has been used to attack Gandhi’s legacy in recent times. In early May, a man from the Sidhi district, claiming to be a member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a BJP student team, cloned a 10 rupee banknote that replaced the image of Mahatma Gandhi with that of Godse.
Before that, on November 15, 2019, the anniversary of Godse’s death, the Hindu Mahasabha in Gwalior observed the 70th Sacrifice Day of Nathuram Godse on Friday, where the main guest acclaimed Godse for murdering Mahatma Gandhi.
Members of Mahasabha reportedly met in his office and performed ‘aarti’ of Godse and Narayan Apte, the co-conspirator who was also hanged for the murder of Gandhi.
.
