Maharashtra: Sanjay Raut likens partition to Afghan crisis

MUMBAI: Likening India’s partition to the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, in his weekly column Rokhthok in the party’s mouthpiece Saamna, said that if Nath-uram Godse had killed Muhammad Ali Jinnah instead of Mahatma Gandhi, the partition could have been avoided and there would have been no need for the country to observe August 14 as ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’.“The situation in Afghanistan reminds us of the pain of destruction of a country’s existence and sovereignty,” said Raut. “Godse killed Gandhi holding only him responsible for the partition. Then what about Jinnah? If Godse would have killed Jinnah, the undivided country would have been retained.”
Slamming Raut’s column, BJP leader Ashish Shelar said: “Pakistan started experiencing a pain in the stomach after PM Modi’s announcement to observe Partition Horrors Remembrance Day. That pain and feelings are reflected in Saamna through Raut’s pen. I feel the paper’s name should be changed to Pakistan-nama or Babar-nama.”