Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday paid tributes to freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar on his 137th birth anniversary.
Taking to twitter, Uddhav Thackeray's office wrote: "On the occasion of Veer Savarkar's birth anniversary, Chief Minister Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray pays homage to the freedom fighter."
Earlier today, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tributes to Veer Savarkar on his birth anniversary, saying he motivated several people to join the freedom struggle.
"On his Jayanti, I bow to the courageous Veer Savarkar. We remember him for his bravery, motivating several others to join the freedom struggle and emphasis on social reform," the prime minister wrote on Twitter. He also shared a clip of his May, 2018 "Mann ki Baat" radio programme in which he had referred to Savarkar.
Naidu described Savarkar as a multi-dimensional personality - a freedom fighter, social reformer, writer and a political thinker. "Savarkar envisioned a casteless India and started one of the most powerful social reform movements against untouchability," the vice president said in a series of tweets.
Savarkar was the president of the Hindu Mahasabha during the Quit India Movement and the second world war. The politician and author, Savarkar's name continues to raise controversy even after 5 decades of his demise for openly opposing the Quit India Movement. He is also known for being incarcerated in Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
