Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Monday lashed out at Modi government and said it is “unfortunate” that freedom struggle Veer Savarkar has been ignored even in the “Modi era” and not honoured with the Bharat Ratna.
The highest civilian award presented to veteran artiste late Bhupen Hazarika which was given recently is because of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, added the Sena.
A few years back Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked him to honour Savarkar with the Bharat Ratna so as to rectify the “mistakes” of earlier governments which had “deliberately neglected” him due to his strict Hindutva views.
Shiv Sena in an editorial in party’s mouthpiece Saamana said, “The Congress insulted Savarkar during its regime. But what did the Modi government do after coming to power? The BJP was pitching hard for the Bharat Ratna for Savarkar when it was in opposition. But neither the Ram temple got constructed nor Savarkar got the Bharat Ratna.”
The editorial further stated that “It is unfortunate that even in the ‘Modi era’, Savarkar has not been given the Bharat Ratna, He (Modi) did some mediation but it got washed away in the waves of the ocean.”