The Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP at the Centre has criticised the central government saying it was ‘unfortunate’ that the icon of the country’s freedom struggle Veer Savarkar has been neglected even in the ‘Modi era’ for not honoured with the Bharat Ratna.
Sena’s mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’ edit today says the highest civilian award has been conferred on veteran artiste late Bhupen Hazarika only keeping an eye on the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, which is a ‘wrong’thing.
The Sena, an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra, has since long been demanding the highest civilian award for Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who spent the prime of his life at the Cellular Jail in Andaman after being sentenced to life.
Sena’s Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut had a few years back written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying it was high time that the NDA government honoured Savarkar with the Bharat Ratna so as to rectify the
‘mistakes’ of earlier governments which had ‘deliberately neglected’ him due to his staunch Hindutva views.
When the BJP was in opposition, it was pitching hard for the Bharat Ratna for Savarkar, but neither the Ram temple got constructed nor Savarkar got the Bharat Ratna, the edit says.
The PM, Narendra Modi had gone to Andaman last month and visited the cell where Savarkar was once jailed.
He did some mediation but it got washed away in the waves of ocean, an edit further says. (UNI)