Watch video: Eknath Shinde takes part in 'Savarkar Gaurav Yatra' in Thane

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday took part in Savarkar Gaurav Yatra in Thane in which hundreds of people took part to honour late Hindutva ideologue V D SavarkarThe aim of the lsquoSavarkar Gaurav Yatrarsquo is to spread awareness about the works of V D Savarkar among people and mark their protest against those who are speaking against the freedom fighter httpstcoHy9kpr6rqRmdash Eknath Shinde mieknathshinde April 2 2023The Bharatiya Janata Party and Shindeled Shiv Sena had last month announced that Savarkar Gaurav Yatras would be taken out in each district of Maharashtra to honour Savarkars contribution to the country and to counter Congress leader Rahul Gandhis criticism against himOn Sunday the yatra participants wearing saffron caps with Mi Savarkar I am Savarkar and other messages written on them paid floral tributes to Savarkar at the Ram Ganesh Gadkari Rangayatan auditorium in Thane city from where the yatra commencedA tableau displaying information related to Savarkar was also part of the yatraShinde and some other leaders of the ruling Shiv SenaBJP coalition participated in the yatra on a makeshift chariot and waved to citizens as the yatra moved to cover four Assembly segments in the cityFlowers were showered on the participants as several of them moved around Thane city using more than 200 motorbikes and around 100 autorickshaws raising slogans in praise of Savarkar and the countryBJP leader Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe Thane MLA Sanjay Kelkar Thane BJP chief and MLC Niranjan Davkhare former mayor Naresh Mhaske Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik and many other local leaders of the ruling coalition participated in the yatraHuge hoardings of Savarkar were put up in the city patriotic songs were played during the yatra and rangolis colourful patterns were made at various placesA number of women in colourful attire and carrying lezims also participated in the yatraLast week Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde targeted Shiv Sena UBT leader Uddhav Thackeray over Rahul Gandhis remarks on late Hindutva ideologue V D SavarkarShinde who was addressing reporters alongside Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis asked Thackeray to show courage to oppose these remarksShinde said the Thackerayled outfit had crossed all limits when they joined the Congress in opposing Rahul Gandhis disqualification as Lok Sabha MP last weekGandhi was disqualified on March 24 after a court in Surat in Gujarat sentenced him to two years in jail in a defamation caseWhat are you Thackeray going to do when you say you are not going to tolerate Savarkars insult You need to show that courage Shinde told reportersShinde said Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray had launched a joda mara abhiyaan hitting with slippers in 2004 against the then Union minister and Congressman Mani Shankar Aiyar for his remarks against SavarkarThose talking about Hindutva their MLAs saying we will not tolerate Savarkars insult were quiet for the sake of politics and Maha Vikas Aghadi This is their double standards Shinde allegedWith inputs from PTI