Savarkar's birth anniversary will be celebrated as 'Swatantrya Gaurav Diwas': CM Eknath Shinde
“Savarkar made immense contributions to India’s freedom movement. He was a reformer who fought against untouchability.
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Mumbai, April 12: In a major development, the Maharashtra government will celebrate Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar’s birthday, May 28, as ‘Swatantrya Veer Gaurav Din’ Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced Tuesday (April 11).
Various programs will be organised to propagate the ideas of Savarkar, Shinde said. Savarkar made great contributions to the country’s Independence and national development, said Shinde, adding that Industries Minister Uday Samant had called for ‘Swatantrya Veer Gaurav Din’ to salute Savarkar’s “patriotism, courage and progressive thoughts”.
“Savarkar made immense contributions to India’s freedom movement. He was a reformer who fought against untouchability. He was a patriot who always strived for the country’s progress,” Shinde said. The objective was to propagate his ideas, and several programmes will be organised for this, he said.
It should be noted that Savarkar was born on May 28, 1883, in the present-day Nashik district. The move came amid when BJP and Shiv Sena have been attacking the Congress over Rahul Gandhi’s “not Savarkar” comment made last month.
His remark invited a strong reaction from the BJP and Shiv Sena. It also created cracks within the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra. Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray said, “We don’t endorse Congress stand on Savarkar. We hold Savarkar in high esteem.”