Mangaluru: Terming supporters of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination as traitors, the former District in-charge Minister B. Ramanath Rai on Saturday said that such persons needed to be socially boycotted.

Mr. Rai was speaking at a protest, organised by the District Congress Committee, against the tweet of Nalin Kumar Kateel, former MP, implying that Nathuram Godse was more innocent than the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi “who killed 17,000 persons”. Mr. Rai said that people should not tolerate those in responsible positions making irresponsible statements. If they are not strongly condemned, there will be attempts to defame those who were involved in India’s freedom struggle, he said.

Ivan D’Souza, MLC, said it was necessary for the Bharatiya Janata Party to remove Pragya Singh Thakur, Anantkumar Hegde, and Mr. Kateel who issued statements in support of Godse.

Condemning Mr. Kateel’s statement, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said he had demeaned the Dakshina Kannada voters who had elected him.

Without doing any development works in the constituency, Mr. Kateel has continued to stay in the limelight by hurting people’s sentiments, the party said.

In Udupi, M.A. Gafoor, secretary, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, said that it was condemnable that the BJP politicians had issued such statements. He was speaking at a meeting at the Congress Bhavan.

Mr. Gafoor said that it was Gandhiji who had won freedom for the country through non-violence.

But the way the BJP MPs had insulted Gandhiji showed their scant respect for not just him but also democracy, he added.