Karnataka Congress releases document backing freedom fighter labelled ‘fake’ by BJP MLA

Raising the issue in Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday, former chief minister and leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah showed a certificate of Doreswamy being lodged in the Bengaluru central jail.

Karnataka: BJP leader calls freedom fighter 'Pak agent', Congress reacts

Derogatory remarks were hurled at 102-year-old freedom fighter H S Doreswamy by BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. (Source: Wikimedia page)

The Karnataka Congress released a 49-year-old document to prove freedom fighter HS Doreswamy’s participation in the Independence struggle, days after BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal’s derogatory remarks against Doreswamy sparked a row in the state assembly.

The BJP leader had recently called the 102-year-old freedom fighter “a fake” and a “Pakistani agent”. Late on Tuesday night, former chief minister and leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah produced a certificate of that attested the prison time Doreswamy served at the Bengaluru central jail. The certificate from the office of the senior superintendent of the Bengaluru central jail was dated September 24, 1971.

According to the certificate, Doreswamy was 25-years-old when he was detained on December 17, 1942 and he was put in Central jail on December 18, 1942 and later released on December 8, 1943. Back then, he was released on parole for a week in June 1943.

Karnataka: BJP leader calls freedom fighter 'Pak agent', Congress protests

The certificate from the office of the senior superintendent of the Bengaluru central jail was dated September 24, 1971.

On Monday, Congress MLAs had demanded a discussion on Yatnal’s remarks and his expulsion from the Assembly. “It is not an insult to veteran Doreswamy alone but also to the entire freedom struggle,” Siddaramaiah had said while seeking action against the BJP legislator. The demand continued to Tuesday as Congress leaders staged a protest in the Well throughout the day, however, both the party and the leader remained defiant.

While Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Kaggeri had initially opposed the demand for a debate on Yatnal’s remarks but later conceded to a discussion.

Yatnal, who is known to often makes incendiary statements, maintained: “I will not apologise to anyone. I stand by my words. I respect freedom fighters but not fake freedom fighters. Let them show where he has fought for freedom, how much punishment he suffered at the hands of the British.”

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