Justice Markandey Katju insults Mahatma Gandhi, calls him ‘rascal’, ‘British agent’

While responding to a series of tweets, Katju ended up saying that partition was a ploy of the British regime, which was approved by "their agents" and "rascals" - Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

New Delhi, April 19: Former chief judge of Allahabad High Court, Markandey Katju, stoked a controversy yet again on social media, by labelling Mahatma Gandhi as a ‘British agent’. The ex-Supreme Court judge further crossed the line by abusing the father of the nation by calling him a ‘rascal’. The comment is expected to draw flak from a vast section of social media users across the nation.

While responding to a series of tweets, Katju ended up saying that partition was a ploy of the British regime, which was approved by “their agents” and “rascals” – Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Justice Katju, on Wednesday, tweeted his angst against the partition, demanding the citizens in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh to strive towards unifying the nation. “All Pakistanis & Bangladeshis r Indians. Partition of 1947 was a historical swindle & fraud by the British, which must be undone (sic),” he said.

All Pakistanis & Bangladeshis r Indians. Partition of 1947 was a historical swindle & fraud by the British, which must be undone. Join IPBRA https://t.co/MRO3IwNRJJ

— Markandey Katju (@mkatju) April 19, 2017

Reacting to his remark, veteran journalist R Jagannath said, “India would have been ungovernable if there had been no partition. Consider the kind of veto powers Jinnah was demanding.” The comment did not go down well with Katju, who countered him with an aggressive reply. “U r talking rubbish. Partition was a historical British swindle, & was the greatest tragedy of the sub continent in modern times (sic),” Katju commented.

The debate escalated with Jagannath, using the phrase of ‘Akhand Bharat’ while referring to unified India and Pakistan. This provoked Katju to say: “Akhand Bharat is RSS concept,with Hindu supremacy. Mine is united secular India,which doesnt tolerate religious extremism, Hindu or Muslim (sic).”

Jagannath was quick to counter, saying, “I am not batting for two nation theory just that in 1947 partition was inevitable and a federation with blocking rights to Jinnah not feasbl (sic).” This compelled Katju to retaliate with a derogatory comment against Jinnah and Gandhi, the two founding fathers of Pakistan and India respectively. “Again talking rubbish. Dont u understand that Partition was planned by Britishers,& accepted by their agents, those rascals Gandhi & Jinnah ?”

Katju, known for his contentious remarks on social media, has not used hard-hitting language against Gandhi for the first time though. In several of his social media posts, he had termed Gandhi as a “British agent” who took decisions in their interest. He also opines that “Akbar was the real father of the nation, and not that British agent, revered as fake Mahatma.”