The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Monday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s attack on freedom fighter V D Savarkar will lead to ebbing of sympathy he has gained due to his disqualification as Lok Sabha MP. An editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ said the truth, which Gandhi is fighting for today, will not win by making defamatory statements against Savarkar.

At a rally on Sunday, Uddhav Thackeray said he considers Savarkar as his “idol”, and asked Gandhi to refrain from “insulting” him.

Thackeray said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of three parties – Sena (UBT), Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – was formed to protect democracy and it was necessary to work unitedly for it.

“By making defamatory statements against Savarkar, the sympathy gained by Rahul Gandhi will start ebbing. This will, for sure, put the Maharashtra Congress in a uncomfortable position,” the editorial said.

Gandhi’s remarks that he is not Savarkar to apologise will not affect the faith of the people in the Hindutva ideologue, it added.

Without naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the editorial said a dictator is always scared and that he first starts controlling the judiciary and parliament and destroys the opposition.

This is precisely called slavery, the editorial said. It said Savarkar pledged to fight such slavery at the age of 12 and Gandhi should take a similar oath.

Gandhi was disqualified as Lok Sabha MP on March 24 after a court in Surat in Gujarat sentenced him to two years in jail in a defamation case.