“Godse was God sent”, “Gandhi should have been hanged“, “Godse had valid reasons to shoot Gandhi”, “I repeat I’m a big Godse fan, so what?” What do the people who posted these tweets have in common? Yes, they are all followed by the honorable Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi. “गांधी जयंती पर बापू को शत्-शत् नमन! I bow to beloved Bapu on Gandhi Jayanti. His noble ideals motivate millions across the world,” Even as PM Modi tweeted his homage to Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, he continues to follow many of those who celebrate the killer of Gandhi.
The video that is attached to Mr. Modi’s tweet pays a personal tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary. Though BJP leaders don’t miss their mandatory Gandhi Jayanti tweet, the situation on the ground among followers of the RSS ideology is very different. From criticizing Gandhi to praising Godse, all of it can be seen.
गांधी जयंती पर बापू को शत्-शत् नमन! I bow to beloved Bapu on Gandhi Jayanti. His noble ideals motivate millions across the world. pic.twitter.com/NFUHMLVCxo
— Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 2, 2017
Alt News researched the tweets of the people Mr Modi follows to see the sentiment they express towards the father of the nation and his murderer. Here is a small selection:
There are those deify him and are ardent admirers
@Alamsha_Karnan Godse is God.
— zookybeans (@zookybeans) January 5, 2010
OMG its such gr8 feeling to share your b’day with Nathuram Godseji…now I know why i chose him against “G”
— Chowkidar नंदिता ठाकुर (@nanditathhakur) May 19, 2012
@GauravPandhi I said the Gandhi last name is like a gaali. I would have rather been a Modi or Godse!! 🙂 @calgalin @MaswoodZ
— Chowkidar Priti Gandhi (@MrsGandhi) October 21, 2012
@gsurya :: I am a big fan of Nathuram Godse. Anytime you, Sibbal or Chindu can visit me.. Most welcome! @siddarthpaim
— Chowkidar Amit Jaiswal Jain (@ArkJaiswal) May 19, 2012
Yet others find rational reasons to justify the killing of the Mahatma
The following tweet is by BJP’s National IT Cell head.
Credit: Alt News
Godse’s love for India was intense and he was fed up of the continued Muslim appeasement done by Gandhi, which was destroying India.
— चौकीदार गीतिका (@ggiittiikkaa) January 8, 2015
Many of us criticize Nathu Ram Godse for what he did, but if you ponder over why he did it, i think i’ll pass his act as equitable action.
— Akhil Rana (@AkhilRana18) August 8, 2010
Yet, the common feature in many being that they see nothing wrong with the killer
What’s wrong with Sri Godse ??? Any Gandhi Supporter …. Reply Plzz
— Anupam Pandey (@AnupamkPandey) January 30, 2013
I Truly Recommend,
Godse Pic Beside Gandhi Inside Parliament.#MyFreedomOfSpeech https://t.co/KHsOL2rpTO— विकास साबू (@SabooVikas) June 1, 2017
These two accounts could not be traced on May 17, 2019.
Veer Savarkar Bano Bhagat Sinh Bano Nathu Ram Godse ki Tarah Desh ke Gaddaro ko Samne hi Maro—-VANDE MATRAM
— Chowkidar Hardik (@bhavsarhardiik) March 14, 2013
Why don’t we have more Godse ??
— Upma (@upma23) January 29, 2015
And others who equate Godse to Ram, Krishna and Obama while equating Gandhiji to Osama, Kans and Ravan
Ram ne Raavan ko maara. (R-R)
Krishna ne Kans ko maara.(K-K)
Godse ne Gandhi ko maara.(G-G)
Obama ne Osama ko… http://fb.me/Z1DKllCU— I Am New India (@NaMo4PM) May 10, 2011
Ram ne Ravan ko maara (R=R)Krishna ne Kansa ko (K=K)Godse ne Gandhi ko (G=G)Obama ne Osama ko (O=O) Corruption maarega Congress ko (C= C)
— चौकीदार Alka (@ALKAAGARWAL9) February 21, 2013
And others who wish Godse were still around for more such jobs
We need someone like Nathuram Godse who will show this harami digvijay & raj babbar their real place
— Chhayank Mehta (@chhayank) June 5, 2011
This account could not be traced on May 17, 2019.
Wish Nathuram Godse would have alive today to teach a lesson to Prashant Bhusan.
— NeoBong (@neo_bong) January 5, 2014
And those who salute Godse and support the idea of statues in his memory
What’s wrong in it ? Even I respect Godse and not Gandhi. Matter of personal choice. https://t.co/SwNxZwEJYa
— Sadhana Tiwari (@Swt_Sadhana) December 19, 2014
This account could not be traced on May 17, 2019.
The above is only a small extract from a large number of such tweets by people Mr Modi handpicked to follow. Though he follows so many admirers of Nathuram Godse, Mr Modi himself has never tweeted anything in his praise. At the same time, he has never said anything negative about him either. His views on Godse remain unsaid, never to be expressed openly.
This article was originally published on Alt News on October 2, 2017. It is being republished in the light of the BJP’s Pragya Thakur calling Godse a ‘deshbhakt’ (patriot).
Note: This article has been edited as one of the accounts is no longer followed by Modi.