Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said Veer Savarkar must be conferred the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.
“Everyone who follows Savarkar must campaign for conferring Bharat Ratna on him. It is for his ideology and thoughts that he had propounded,” Mr Thackeray said on the concluding day of the three-day Savarkar Sahitya Sammelan in Thane.
Mr Thackeray said, “I am coming to this seminar for the third time. But I can’t claim that I have understood Savarkar very well. We are fortunate that a legend of the stature of Veer Savarkar was born in our nation. But we never followed his thoughts.”
Earlier, education minister Vinod Tawde said that the state government would try to include the thought and greatness of Veer Savarkar in school syllabus. “This will make generations aware about the sacrifice of Savarkar for the nation,” said Mr Tawde at the same function.
“India needs to follow the thoughts of Savarkar to be superpower. Prime Minister Narendra Modiji is ‘bhakta’ of Savarkar,” Mr Tawde said.
Mr Thackeray also showered praises on Savarkar, saying, “Savarkar’s literature, be it from behind the bars of Andman jail or from Ratnagiri on issues like untouchables were the directives for the awakening of Hindu identity. But our political leadership in the past misread him.”
Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah had inaugurated the three-day event on Friday.
The literature seminar saw ruling BJP and Sena leaders on the dais for all the three days. “This generation has not read Savarkar in totality. Even school syllabus has not given justice to him despite his huge work in different sectors of life.
Probably aiming a taunt at the Congress, he said, “Those who ignored Veer Savarkar are facing problems today.”
