Shiv Sena slams PM over I-Day speeches

The Shiv Sena demanded that the Bharat Ratna be conferred on Savarkar.

A day before Independence Day, the Shiv Sena, an ally of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not naming Veer Savarkar in his past Independence Day speeches given at Red Fort.

Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that while the PM repeatedly credits freedom fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru in his speeches, Savarakar is ignored. (HT Photo)

Sena MP Sanjay Raut, in his weekly column in Saamna — the mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena — highlighted the omission on Sunday. He said that while the PM repeatedly credits freedom fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru in his speeches, Savarakar is ignored.

“Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not have the courage and conviction to name Veer Savarkar, whose contribution is more than that of the others. Gandhi and Nehru had not even arrived on the political scene when Savarkar was sentenced to 50 years imprisonment in 1911,” he said. Raut said Savarkar pledged to sacrifice his life fighting for independence when he was 14-years-old, unlike Gandhi and Nehru, who were forced to join the struggle.

The Shiv Sena demanded that the Bharat Ratna be conferred on Savarkar. Savarkar, a freedom fighter and a Hindutva icon was controversial for his overt Hindu nationalism and his implication in Gandhi’s assassination, which was never proven. While the founder of the Hindu Mahasabha was never a member of the RSS, the BJP looks upon him as an original Hindutva ideologue, as does the Shiv Sena. The Congress has been critical of his legacy. Currently, given the political scenario and rivalry between the saffron allies, the Shiv Sena is not passing up any opportunity to embarrass the BJP for not giving Savarkar his due.