Pro-Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj warns of stir against derogatory comments on Mahatma Gandhi

Condemning glorification of Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse, pro-Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj on Friday said his outfit will launch a statewide agitation if anyone insulted the Father of the Nation.

The Kannada Chalavali VatalPaksha (KCVP) leader also demanded that the Maharashtra government immediately suspend a woman IAS officer, who courted controversy by tweeting that Gandhi's statues should be removed across the world.

"In the recent past we are hearing derogatory statements against Mahatma Gandhi. I caution them that KCVP will carry out a vehement agitation if anyone insults Mahatma Gandhi, opposes his statues, or glorifies sinister Nathuram Godse who killed him," Nagaraj told reporters in Bengaluru.

Anybody trying to glorify Nathuram Godse should be punished severely, he said.

Describing the action of the IAS officer as "unpardonable crime", he said: "She has still not been thrown out or suspended. The officer should be immediately suspended."

In the tweet, which has since been deleted, Nidhi Choudhari, who was then Mumbai Deputy Municipal Commissioner, had called for removal of Mahatma Gandhi's statues from across the world and his images from the Indian currency notes.

After a row erupted, the officer clarified the tweet was "sarcastic" and that it was "misinterpreted".

Nagaraj also said his outfit was launching a drive against corruption from Friday.

The KCVP took out a procession here, remembering Gandhi's struggle against injustice and the British rule.