'Savarkar never hated Muslims': Grandnephew targets Rahul Gandhi in Pune court

PUNE: Satyaki Savarkar, grandnephew of Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, told a special court in Pune on Tuesday that Savarkar "never hated Muslims" and had written about ways for their progress, while alleging that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had portrayed him as an "extreme hater of Muslims".Satyaki made the remarks while being cross-examined by advocate Milind Pawar in a criminal defamation case linked to statements allegedly made by Gandhi in London in 2023, news agency PTI reported.During the cross-examination, Pawar asked Satyaki to identify the exact words in Gandhi's alleged speech that he believed had lowered the reputation of Swatantryaveer Savarkar.Satyaki referred to Gandhi's statement that "Savarkar had written in a book that he and five to six friends had assaulted a Muslim youth and derived pleasure from the act"."By these words, Savarkar was portrayed as an extreme hater of Muslims and as a mob lyncher.