Bengaluru, Feb. 9 -- Karnataka Minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge on Monday questioned RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat's push to confer the Bharat Ratna on Veer Savarkar, saying the government must first answer long-standing questions in the public domain regarding Savarkar's role during the freedom struggle.
Speaking to reporters here, Kharge said the government was free to bestow the country's highest civilian honour on anyone, but accountability could not be bypassed. He raised queries related to VD Savarkar's alleged mercy petitions to the British, acceptance of a British pension and his opposition to Dr BR Ambedkar.
"Babasaheb Ambedkar himself has written about this. Let them answer these questions and then give Bharat Ratna if they...