In his address to the participants at the end of the yatra in Thane, Shinde came down heavily on Congress leader and said, “I condemn Rahul Gandhi and others who share similar opinions regarding Savarkar”.
Shinde questioned, “Can (Rahul Gandhi) live in the cellular jail at Kalapani like Savarkar. They are continuously insulting the nation and the freedom fighters, and because of them we are enjoying independence”.
Shinde said, “During the yatra, Savarkar is taken to every nook and corner of the state and villages, where people of various age groups gather in large numbers to express their admiration for him”.
“Prior to 2014, when people used to call Hindutva they were tagged against a particular community but it changed the narrative after 2014 when Narendra Modi came to power,” he said.
Without naming Uddhav Thackeray, Shinde said, ” Balasaheb Thackeray who was a staunch follower of Hindutva ideology had slapped the portrait of Congress leader Mani Shankar Iyer with shoes when he insulted Savarkar, but it is unfortunate that Balasaheb’s progeny are with the same Rahul Gandhi”.
Along with Shinde, the yatra had the presence of BJP leaders — Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Thane MLA Sanjay Kelkar, Thane MLC Niranjan Davkhare, former mayor Naresh Mhaske, Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik and many other local leaders.
The yatra in Thane started from Gadkari Rnaghayan auditorium and covered nearly 10-12km in four assembly segments of the Thane city with a tableau displaying information about Savarkar. Shinde was on a chariot with the background banner of Savarkar.
Shinde said the yatra will continue with the same zest.
