Modi lauds Savarkar values amid pitch for Bharat Ratna

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar while addressing a rally in Maharashtra's Akola. His comment came a day after the BJP in its Maharashtra election manifesto called for awarding India's highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna to Savarkar.

"It is due to Savarkar's "sanskar" (values) that we put nationalism as the basis for nation-building," said Modi. "The people who are angry at our nullifying article 370, they are the same people who used to abuse and denigrate Veer Savarkar and who denied him a Bharat Ratna till today."

"Ambedkar had drafted the Constitution....but the Congress kept him 'vanchit' (deprived) of the Bharat Ratna...Congress also insulted Veer Savarkar," Modi said. Modi called the opposition parties "shameless" as he attacked them for objecting to BJP leaders bringing up the issue of abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir during campaigning for the Maharashtra Assembly polls.

He claimed that when young leaders in the Congress say the government's decision of abrogating Article 370 is in the country's interest, they are sidelined in the party.

"Look, you are so happy with the nullification of article 370, with Kashmir's full integration into India under the constitution written by Baba Ambedkar," he said.

"Haven't the sons of this soil laid down their lives to ensure that the valley remains peaceful. I'm proud of Mahrashtra's son who made supreme sacrifice for their motherland." "How dare they question (abrogation of) Article 370 and ask how is it connected to Maharashtra polls?" Modi said, adding he was amazed that such politically selfish comments were being made in the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray took a dig at former chief minister and his bete noire Narayan Rane, a day after the latter merged his political outfit with the ruling BJP in the run-up to the October 21 assembly elections. Addressing a rally in Rane's backyard in Kankavli in Sindhudurg district, Thackeray said his party has fielded a candidate despite the constituency being allocated to the BJP as part of the seat-sharing pact.

Sena has pitted Satish Sawant, a former aide of Narayan Rane, against sitting Congress MLA and latter's son Nitesh, who is seeking another term on a BJP ticket. Thackeray questionned the choice of Nitesh as the BJP nominee, without taking his name. ".