Former Union minister and BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde, a repeat offender, is once again in news for all the wrong reasons and this time he has called Mahatma Gandhi’s freedom struggle a “drama”.

He also questioned how “such people” could be called ‘Mahatma’ in India.

At an event in Bangalore, the Lok Sabha MP from Uttara Kannada had claimed that the “entire freedom movement was staged with the consent and support of the British, and the independence movement led by Gandhi was a drama”.

“None of these so-called leaders were beaten up by the cops even once. Their independence movement was one big drama. It was staged by these leaders with the approval of the British. It was not a genuine fight. It was an adjustment freedom struggle,” he said.

He also termed Mahatma Gandhi’s hunger strikes and satyagraha a “drama”.

“People supporting Congress keep saying that India got independence because of the fast unto death and satyagraha. This is not true. The British did not leave the country because of satyagraha,” he said.

“Britishers gave independence out of frustration. My blood boils when I read history. Such people become Mahatma in our country,” Hegde said in his concluding statement.

Following this, the Congress on Monday slammed the BJP leader saying the Father of the Nation does not need a certificate from the “cadre of Britisher’s chamchas and spies”.

“Mahatma Gandhi does not need a certificate from cadre of Britishers ‘chamchas and spies’,” Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said in a tweet.

It is high time the BJP is renamed ‘Nathuram Godse Party’, Jaiveer Shergill added.

Another Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi tweeted, “Awaiting Narendra Modi who invokes Mahatma Gandhi at the drop of a hat especially when repackaging his ideas and to gain international credibility to comment on Mr Hegde who is a senior BJP Leader.”

Amid criticism, the Bharatiya Janata Party has asked its MP, Anantkumar Hegde, to issue an unconditional apology over his latest remark on Mahatma Gandhi.

According to sources quoted by ANI, the BJP is upset over Hegde’s remarks on Mahatma Gandhi and has asked him for an apology.