BJP using name of Veer Savarkar for political gains: Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi

New Delhi, Feb 12 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday accused the ruling BJP of using the name of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar for political gains and demanded that the freedom fighter should be given the Bharat Ratna.

The remarks came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is visiting Marseille, France, remembered Savarkar’s attempt to escape while being taken to India in a ship by the British.

“Veer Savarkar ji has an important contribution… Shiv Sena has always demanded Bharat Ratna for him, but the BJP is not doing it. They remember Veer Savarkar ji for the sake of politics, and when their work is done, they forget him,” Chaturvedi told PTI Videos.

The Rajya Sabha MP said there should be no politics on a freedom fighter being honoured.

“PM has honoured him in France, from where his struggle started, he was sent to jail… If we give respect to freedom fighters and honour them, there should be no politics on that,” Chaturvedi said.

“It should not be forgotten that Indira Gandhi ji also got a documentary made on him, and released a stamp. Everyone had a different approach, whether Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, or Veer Savarkar, but they had a common goal that was freedom from the British,” she said.

Prime Minister Modi arrived in Marseille in southern France on Tuesday night (local time) and paid homage to the memory of Savarkar, who he said attempted a “courageous escape” at the port city.

“Landed in Marseille. In India’s quest for freedom, this city holds special significance. It was here that the great Veer Savarkar attempted a courageous escape,” Modi said in a post on X after arriving there.

He added, “I also want to thank the people of Marseille and the French activists of that time who demanded that he not be handed over to British custody. The bravery of Veer Savarkar continues to inspire generations!”

During British colonial rule, Savarkar had attempted an escape from captivity on July 8, 1910, while he was being transported on board the British ship Morea to India to stand trial.

He is known to have slipped out of the ship’s porthole and managed to swim ashore before being captured by the French authorities and then handed back into the custody of the British ship authorities. It triggered a major diplomatic row as Savarkar went on to be sentenced to life imprisonment at Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.