Author and poet Ashok Kumar Pandey has responded to actor Kangana Ranaut's recent comments on Nathuram Godse saying that he will send her a copy of his book Usne Gandhi Ko Kyon Mara "so that she may have access to the real facts related to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi." "When she is openly tampering with the facts of history and trying to convert a killer like Nathuram Godse into a hero, it becomes necessary to be answered," he said in a statement.
Pandey added, "Godse's history is of publishing a communal newspaper Agrani, which not only criticized Gandhi and Nehru but spread similar venom against freedom fighters like Patel, Subhash, Ambedkar, and others who are often praised by Kangana and her right-wing followers. Apart from this, his contribution was to support and finance communal riots which resulted in the partition of the country and finally he succeeded in assassinating Gandhi. This 'hero' of Kangana and her supporters were such great patriots that their blood did not boil at all when the British executed Bhagat Singh or inspired them enough to join the Indian National Army of Subhash Chandra Bose. Surprisingly, they readily followed the suit when their mentor Savarkar called for the recruitment in British Army. His brother and co-conspirator Gopal Godse and Narain Apte enlisted themselves in British Army during Second World War."
On Mahatma Gandhi's death anniversary on 30 January, Kangana posted a tweet glorifying Nathuram Godse and say that there always are 'three sides' to every story. Godse, the man who assassinated Gandhi, was hanged to death on 15 November, 1948. Posting a few photos of Godse Kangana tweeted, "Every story has three sides to it, yours, mine and the truth.... A good story teller neither commits nor conceals... and that’s why our text books suck... full of exposition #NathuramGodse" Several Twitter users criticised her for her statement.
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