Rahul Gandhi Claims VD Savarkar-Nathuram Godse ‘Family Links’ In Defamation Affidavit

Last Updated:May 29, 2025, 15:44 IST

Rahul Gandhi claimed that Satyaki’s mother, Himani Ashok Savarkar, was the daughter of Gopal Godse, younger brother of Nathuram Godse. 

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (Image: PTI/File)

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has once again ignited a controversy by claiming that freedom fighter an Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a relative of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin, Nathuram Godse.

In an affidavit filed before a special MP/MLA court in Pune in defamation case filed against him by Savarkar’s grandnephew, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition has claimed that Satyaki Savarkar has deliberately concealed his maternal lineage to Godse, reported news agency PTI.

He claimed that Satyaki’s mother, Himani Ashok Savarkar, was the daughter of Gopal Godse, younger brother of Nathuram Godse.

“As per information, mother of complainant Smt. Himani Ashok Savarkar was born on 31/03/1947 and died on 11/10/2015 at Pune. Late Smt. Himani Ashok Savarkar is daughter of Gopal Vinayak Godse, younger brother of Nathuram Vinayak Godse, who killed father of nation Mahatma Gandhi on 30/01/1948 and was hanged along with his accomplice Narayan Apte On 15/11/1949," Gandhi said in his affidavit.

According to the affidavit, Himani was a Hindutva activist and was married to Ashok Savarkar, nephew of VD Savarkar. Gandhi pointed out that Satyaki Savarkar has only provided details of his “paternal side" of the family tree and not the maternal side.

The affidavit points out that Vinayak Savarkar was a co-accused in the Gandhi assassination case, but was acquitted.

“The grandfather of complainant Gopal Godse was also convicted accused in murder of Mahatma Gandhi. These are the historical(ly) important facts and movements behind this case," the affidavit stated.

Rahul Gandhi’s lawyer, Milind Pawar has sought that the maternal lineage of Satyaki Savakar be produced in court.

“If Satyaki Savarkar fails to submit his maternal lineage from the Godse family, it has been requested that the Vishrambaug police station in Pune be directed to investigate the detailed ancestry of the late Himani Ashok Savarkar and submit a report to the court, he said

Satyaki Savarkar had filed a defamation complaint against Rahul Gandhi in a Pune court citing his speech against VD Savarkar in London in March 2023.

According to the complaint, the Congress MP had claimed in his speech that VD Savarkar had written in a “book" that “he and five to six of his friends once beat up a Muslim man and that he (Savarkar) felt happy".

VD Savarkar never wrote any such thing anywhere and called the remarks by Gandhi as “fictitious, false, and malicious", it said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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