Mumbai: The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction said the Congress and BJP should study the political, social, scientific, and economic thoughts of freedom fighter VD Savarkar.
Last week, Rahul Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Yatra claimed Savarkar used to get a stipend from the British and asserted that it was a historical fact. BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said the Congress leader doesn't know the history of India.
Savarkar is a highly polarised Hindutva figure revered by both Shiv Sena and BJP. Fadnavis also called Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray to respond to the issue and asked whether he supports the statement against Savarkar.
Team Uddhav in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana said both parties are trivialising the issue. It added that Shiv Sena has been demanding that Savarkar be awarded Bharat Ratna for years, but BJP hasn't done it. "Whenever the demand of giving Bharat Ratna to Savarkar arises, it (the BJP) hides its face. For the BJP, the issue of Savarkar is just for rumination." It further asked why the Modi government did not name the Rajpath after Veer Savarkar.
Shiv Sena also said Rahul Gandhi's statement is "shocking". "For years, the Congress has been claiming that Savarkar came out of jail in Andaman after his mercy petitions. The Congress could have separate thinking about the role of revolutionaries in the freedom struggle, but the British were taken aback by the revolt by many revolutionaries like Savarkar," said Shiv Sena.