February 27, 2003	Thursday	Zul Hijjah 25, 1423

NEW DELHI, Feb 26: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, India’s first non-politician president, was boycotted in parliament on Wednesday when he unveiled the portrait of a Hindu nationalist leader.

Opposition MPs walked out as Kalam unveiled the portrait of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in parliament’s central hall, next to pictures of revered national leaders.

The Hindu nationalist BJP of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who attended the unveiling, venerates the right-wing ideology of Savarkar, who believed British colonial rule in India could only be ended by strong military action.

The Congress party, which claims credit for the non-violent movement that ended 200 years of British rule, charges that Savarkar was partly responsible for the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

Savarkar had strongly opposed Gandhi’s conciliatory views towards Pakistan. Gandhi’s assassin, Nathuram Godse, had been a volunteer at the Hindu Mahasabha, an institution affiliated with Savarkar.

Slogan-shouting proceeded the unveiling of his portrait, which Congress had urged President Kalam to boycott.

“Gandhi, we are ashamed your assassins are still alive!” Congress MPs chanted. BJP parliamentarians countered, screaming, “Savarkar is immortal.”

“This government run by agents of British imperialism will not be allowed to stay,” members from other opposition groupings shouted.—AFP