Congress shouldn’t allow BJP to usurp saffron colour, says Prithviraj Chavan amid ‘saffron terror’ charges

Chavan says that the govt should appeal against Malegaon order and 7/11 train blasts judgement, so there is justice for the victims

Appealing to his own party leaders to not term terror as ‘saffron terror’, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan on Friday (August 1, 2025) said that the Congress should not let the BJP usurp saffron colour. “14 Crore Maharashtrians revere saffron, not because of BJP, but because of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” he told The Hindu.

Hitting back at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who said there never was any Hindutva or saffron terror, he asked, “Who was Nathuram Godse then? Who killed Comrade Pansare or Narendra Dabholkar? While terror has no colour, acts of terror need to be recognised. What is the colour of terror in Manipur?”

He said that the current government had failed to give justice to the victims of terror attacks. “There have been acquittals in the 7/11 train blasts and in Malegaon blast. What will you tell the victims? Who did it? Someone has to be accountable. The government should go in appeal against both the orders. Where is justice otherwise?” he asked.

Mr Chavan said that as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra before 2014, he had sent a proposal to the Centre to ban Sanatan Sanstha under the stringent UAPA.

ATS policeman’s statement questioned

He questioned the timing and the content of a former policeman of Maharashtra Police who has claimed that he was asked to arrest Mohan Bhagwat after the Malegaon blasts. “How can you trust a former inspector? Can an inspector be privy to such high level discussions? What is the basis of his statement? Also, this is not the first time he has said it. When Fadnavis became the CM in 2014, why didn’t he say anything about it?” he asked, calling the timing of the statement conspicuous.