Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday demanded that Balasaheb Thackeray be conferred with the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour in the country, on his birth anniversary. "Balasaheb Thackeray should be conferred with the Bharat Ratna award. He established Shiv Sena and struggled for the rights of Marathi people," Sanjay Raut said. He further took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah after they paid homage to Balasaheb on X. Raut argued that conferring the Bharat Ratna to the Shiv Sena founder would be the actual respect for him.
"PM Modi and Amit Shah tried to break the party and now they are tweeting to wish him on his birthday. If people like Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis pay tribute to Balasaheb Thackeray on Twitter (X), then it is the biggest hypocrisy. Shiv Sena is the life of Balasaheb Thackeray, and they attacked it," the Sena-UBT leader said.
Praising Balasaheb Thackeray, he said, "Leaders like Balasaheb Thackeray will not be born again in this country. He made common people like us leaders. He never held any position. What did the BJP do? they broke the party for their interest."
"Conferring the Bharat Ratna will be better than paying homage on Twitter (X)," he added. Balasaheb Thackeray was the founder of the Shiv Sena party and was vocal about the issues of the Maratha people and Hindus.
Earlier in the day, PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister paid homage to Balasaheb on his birth anniversary. "I pay homage to Balasaheb Thackeray Ji on his birth anniversary. He is widely respected and remembered for his commitment to public welfare and Maharashtra's development. He was uncompromising when it came to his core beliefs and always contributed towards enhancing the pride of Indian culture," PM Modi said in a post on X.