The Shiv Sena-UBT on Thursday demanded the Bharat Ratna for Shiv Sena founder the late Bal Thackeray.
Speaking on the occasion of the late leader's 99th birth anniversary, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said the BJP-led government has in the last ten years conferred the country's highest civilian honour on some persons 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.
Raut noted 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 Balasaheb, it will also be an honour for Veer Savarkar," the Rajya Sabha member further said.
His party colleague and Mumbai South MP Arvind Sawant also made the same demand, saying that Thackeray showed the country what "Hindutva ideals" are.
"The government (at the Centre) which calls itself pro-Hindutva must honour him with Bharat Ratna. We strongly demand this," he said after paying respects to Thackeray at his memorial at the Shivaji Park in central Mumbai.
Raut, meanwhile, took a swipe at the rival Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, likening it to Chinese firecrackers that won't burst.
The real Shiv Sena is at 'Matoshri', the Thackeray family's residence in Bandra where Uddhav Thackeray lives with his family, he said.
"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," he said.
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