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Returning from his foreign tour, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday night lambasted previous governments for not fulfilling the final wish of freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Verma, who wanted his ashes brought to India after Independence.
Modi, who arrived in Mumbai from Geneva with the ashes, was welcomed by thousands of activists of the Shree Kutchi Bhanushali Seva Samaj Trust at the international airport.
"It is unfortunate that no earlier government tried to fulfill Verma's wishes," Modi told the gathering adding Verma's contribution to the freedom struggle had inspired almost all the revolutionary leaders of the country from Bal Gangadhar Tilak to Veer Savarkar.
Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani and the Ministry of External Affairs had pursued the process of bringing back the ashes in the last 12 months, he said.
Modi received the ashes in Geneva, Switzerland on August 22 - the day Verma hoisted the Indian flag designed by Madam Cama.
The ashes will be kept for public viewing at Bhanushali Wadi, Ghatkopar, on August 24 from 7:00 to 8:30 am, a release from Shree Kutchi Bhanushali Seva Samaj Trust said.
It will be taken to various parts of Mumbai before being sent to Gujarat. The urn will travel through the Kutch region and reach Mandvi in December, the release added.