Image Courtesy:thefederal.com
Nagothu Ramesh Naidu, a State secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Andhra Pradesh unit, who’s online activities like most party workers are focussed on retweeting posts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and wishing party leaders on their birthdays. Of course sharing online posts of his own public appearances etc are a regular feature. So far it is on predictable lines, while the leaders he hopes to reach are seen responding, leave alone following him back, many may have taken notice of the former sarpanch’s latest online faux pas.
The ABVP activist had hailed Nathuram Godse, the man who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, as a “patriot”. He did so on november 15, the day Gandhi’s assassin was executed. Nathuram Godse, a strong proponent of Hindu nationalism had shot Gandhi point blank,thrice in the chest on January 30, 1948, sending shockwaves across the world. The court sentenced Godse and Narayan Apte to death by hanging on November 8, 1949, and they were executed in Ambala jail on November 15, 1949. Rameshnaidu Nagothu was commemorating this execution and respectfully posted this: “Today, on his death anniversary, I salute #Nathuram_Godse with utmost gratitude. The true and one of the greatest patriot ever born in bharatbhoomi!”
However, it sparked outrage quickly and he deleted the tweet. Of course other social media users had preempted this and taken screen shots of the tweet. The man himself did not apologise, but told Times Now that the tweet praising Godse, was “posted by someone else who was handling his Twitter account”. It is not known if he has blamed someone else for handling his social media before.
In fact, on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi that is marked worldwide, he had called the Father of the nation a “great hero of the war of independence and the peacemaker who established the ‘Indain’ brotherhood.” The fact that he could not even spell Indian properly was mostly ignored as a typo.
He has even praised other national leaders, including Congressmen such as Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shartri on their birth anniversaries, with tweets such as this:
“Discipline and united action are the real source of strength for the nation.” – Shastri Ji His call “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan ” made India a self reliant & strong nation. Tributes to one of the best Prime Ministers of India Shastri Ji. Naman.”
“Discipline and united action are the real source of strength for the nation.” – Shastri Ji
His call “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan ” made India a self reliant & strong nation.
Tributes to one of the best Prime Ministers of India Shastri Ji.
Naman.???#LalBahadurShastriJayanti pic.twitter.com/RhUowyhdkS— Rameshnaidu Nagothu (@RNagothu) October 2, 2020
“Jayanti of the first Prime Minister of India Shri Jawaharlal Nehru
“Happy Children’s Day”
భారత తోలి ప్రధాని శ్రీ జవహర్లాల్ నెహ్రు జయంతి ?
“బాలల దినోత్సవ శుభాకాంక్షలు ” pic.twitter.com/R6kvZgYHKY— Rameshnaidu Nagothu (@RNagothu) November 14, 2020
He seems to have lost track of his own praise of the Congress leaders who are often vilified decades after their deaths. ‘Blame it on Nehru’ is a popular online tag used by right wing groups including BJP politicians. Every year, when India, and the world remembers the secular teachings of Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, 2020, there is always a group trending the hashtags praising Nathuram Godse, his assassin. #नाथूराम_गोडसे_जिंदाबाद trended on the birth anniversary of India’s ‘Bapu.’ Right wing netizens choose the birth anniversary of Gandhi to remember his murderer and spend days indulging in a meaningless feud between Gandhi-supporters and Nathuram-supporters.
This time too Nagothu’s tweet prompted social media users to ask if hailing Godse was BJP’s official stand. Meanwhile, the Hindu Mahasabha observed the 71st death anniversary of Godse and co-conspirator Narayan Apte as ‘sacrifice day’, reported Times Now adding that the right-wing outfit said that if Godse’s bust, confiscated three years ago from its office, is not returned, the group will install a new one, “Our members performed aarti and paid tributes to Godse and Apte at Daulatganj,” the national vice president Dr Jaiveer Bhardwaj was quoted in the report. The local authorities had confiscated Godse’s bust in November 2017, thereby foiling the right-wing outfit’s attempt to turn its office into his ‘temple’, added the report.
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