Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde schools Rahul Gandhi, says every Indian should respect Veer Savarkar

Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Sunday (December 15) said that the people of India are well aware of the sacrifices made by Veer Savarkar and every Indian should respect him for his contributions in nation-building.

Senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Sunday (December 15) commented on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'My name is not Rahul Savarkar' comment and said that the people of India are well aware of the sacrifices made by Veer Savarkar and every Indian should respect him for his contributions in nation-building. 

"Everybody knows the sacrifice 'swatantra veer Savarkar' made for the country. Nobody can deny what he did for the country. Everyone should respect him," said Shinde, who is a Cabinet minister in Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP alliance government in Maharashtra.

Rahul Gandhi sparked a huge political row on Saturday (December 14) by saying that he will never apologise for the speaking the truth and his name was Rahul Gandhi and not Rahul Savarkar. It is to be noted that the BJP has been demanding that Rahul must apologise to the nation for saying that instead of 'Make In India', the country has become 'Rape In India' under BJP rule.

Reacting to Rahul's comment, Ranjit Savarkar, grandson of the Hindutva icon Veer Savarkar, on Sunday said that he will file a defamation case against the Gandhi scion. He added that he will also meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to discuss Rahul Gandhi's remark on Veer Savarkar during a rally. Saying that Hindutva is the backbone of Shiv Sena's ideology, Ranjit said that he would demand Thackeray to take strict action against the Congress leader. Ranjit said that Shiv Sena should snap ties with the Congress and choose party ethics over politics.

BJP leader and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan slammed Rahul Gandhi over his 'I am not Rahul Savarkar' remark, and said that one needs to be 'Veer' (brave) to have Savarkar as your surname.

On Saturday (December 14), Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had lashed out Rahul Gandhi saying that his remark was a result of his ego. Prasad asserted that Rahul doesn't understand the history of India and made a comment on a great patriot, Veer Savarkar, of the country. He added people are proud of that Veer Savarkar was born in India. He further said that people couldn't expect an apology from Rahul as it was his ego speaking.