Bharat Ratna to Savarkar: Cong doesn't agree with Sena's demand

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Friday said that the party does not share the same stand with Shiv Sena, its alliance partner in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, over the demand for India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna to Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

"Bharat Ratna should be conferred on Savitribai Phule and Shahuji Maharaj. Shiv Sena's stand is not our stand," Patole told media while responding to a question on Shiv Sena's demand for Bharat Ratna to Savarkar.

"To confer Bharat Ratna is the responsibility of central government and not the issue of the state government," he added.

This comes two days after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in the state Assembly on Wednesday questioned Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on why the ruling party at the Centre has not yet conferred the Bharat Ratna on Savarkar.

Earlier, in October last year, Sena leader Sanjay Raut had asked why the BJP government at the Centre had not given Bharat Ratna to Savarkar.

He had also said that the party has never changed its stand on Savarkar.