JALPAIGURI: BJP’s Dhupguri candidate Naresh Roy came under fire from Trinamool Congress on Monday after a video went viral showing Roy allegedly making derogatory remarks about Mahatma Gandhi, reports Pinak Priya Bhattacharya. Roy said his comments had been misinterpreted. The authenticity of the video could not be verified. The video, shared by Trinamool Congress on social media, showed Roy referring to Mahatma Gandhi as a “deshdrohi” (traitor). Trinamool senior functionaries, Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja, citing Roy’s comment, said BJP had dishonoured national and Bengal icons. Ghosh said that it was no wonder that a BJP candidate would make derogatory remarks against Gandhi because BJP “is a party of the worshippers of Nathuram Godse (Gandhi’s assassin)”. Panja accused BJP of disrespecting India’s history and the legacy of the freedom struggle, adding that the controversy showed “BJP’s political culture and mindset”. Roy maintained that only a small part of his speech had been circulated without context as part of a ploy to spread confusion about him and that he had immense respect for Gandhi.
