Savarkar’s home is as sacred as a temple, says Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai city news: BJP is commemorating the 134th birth anniversary of Veer Savarkar and Fadnavis visited his birthplace as part of the programme.

After visiting Veer Sarvarkar’s home At BHagur in Nashik district, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said that it was as sacred as visiting any temple.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis pays tribute to Veer Savarkar on the occasion of his birth anniversary at Bhagur in Nashikon Sunday. (PTI)

Shiv Sena, BJP’s ally in the state and Centre, also reiterated its demand for a Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award, for Savarkar.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, better known as Veer Savarkar, was a right wing ideologue. He was a freedom fighter and was also chargesheeted in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi but was exonerated for lack of evidence.

BJP is commemorating the 134th birth anniversary of Veer Savarkar and Fadnavis visited his birthplace as part of the programme.

“Took Darshan at brave son of BharatMata Swatantryaveer Savarkar’s house; experienced amazing vibes. It was as sacred as Darshan in any temple,” Fadnavis tweeted.

Ha said any insult to Savarkar would be similar to an insult of the Indian independence. “He fought for independence from the British all his life. He was an inspiration for many and formed a generation of freedom fighters,” Fadnavis said.

Fadnavis declared an allocation of Rs 65 lakh for the conservation of Savarkar’s memorial in Nashik. He also inaugurated an exhibition of Savarkar’s rare books and assured full support from the state government to preserve the assets of our freedom struggle.

Meanwhile, Sena MP Arvind Sawant again reiterated the party’s demand for honouring Savarkar with a Bharat Ratna. “We are making this demand again on the birth anniversary of Savarkar ji. This (BJP) government says a lot about him but does nothing. Even today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his ‘Man ki Baat’ session praised Savarkar and asked the people of the country to visit the cellular jail on Andaman Nicobar islands, where he was kept. Despite this, we don’t understand what is stopping them from honouring him with the Bharat Ratna,” Sawant told HT.

Who is Sarvarkar?

Savarkar was a revolutionary who spent many years in the historic prison of Andaman and Nicobar islands. He propounded the philosophy of Hindutva and was arrested in the case of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination but was not found guilty.

The Hindu Mahasabha, under his presidency, did not support the ‘Quit India’ movement launched in August 1942. Savarkar also asked Hindus to help the British in their war effort against Germany and Japan. His supporters say this was a tactic to get more Hindus to get military training that could have been turned against the Britishers later.