'Will also be honour for Veer Savarkar': Shiv Sena (UBT) demands Bharat Ratna for Balasaheb Thackeray, attacks Shinde Sena

The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday demanded that the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, be conferred upon Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray. He said that this will also be an honour for Veer Savarkar, widely revered in Maharashtra for his contribution to the freedom movement.

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said that in the last 10 years, the BJP-led government conferred the honour on some people who did not deserve it. 

"But the man who truly sowed the seeds of Hindutva in the country must also be given the Bharat Ratna. Why has he not been given Bharat Ratna? 'Hindu-hriday Samrat' Bal Thackeray must be honoured with the award. This is Shiv Sena (UBT)'s demand," he said.

He added that Thackeray's birth centenary was a year away. "Before the centenary starts, it is necessary that he gets the Bharat Ratna. You could not give the Bharat Ratna to Veer Savarkar. If you give Bharat Ratna to Bala-saheb, it will also be an honour for Veer Savarkar."

He also took this opportunity to take a swipe at the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde. Likening the Shinde Sena to Chinese firecrackers, he said that the real Shiv Sena is in Matoshri.

"There are counterfeit medicines, clothes in the market....There are Chinese crackers. They don't burst but there are only sparks. Such products are being brought by the BJP."

Mumbai South Lok Sabha MP Arvind Sawant also chimed in and said that the Shiv Sena founder showed India what "Hindutva ideals" are. 

"The government (at the Centre) which calls itself pro-Hindutva must honour him with Bharat Ratna. We strongly demand this," Sawant said after paying respects to Thackeray at his memorial. 

Balasaheb Thackeray, the founder of the Shiv Sena, was a prominent figure in Maharashtra politics. He championed the cause of the "Marathi manoos" (the common Marathi-speaking person) and later embraced the ideology of Hindu nationalism.

Thackeray enjoyed widespread popularity in Maharashtra, and his influence gradually expanded across the country. He was born on January 23, 1926, in Pune and passed away at the age of 86 on November 17, 2012, in Mumbai.

Since Thackeray's demise, the Shiv Sena party he founded has undergone significant changes. In 2022, the party split after a rebellion led by Eknath Shinde against the party's leadership at the time. This political upheaval led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and Uddhav Thackeray had to resign as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.