Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis pays tribute to RSS founder Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar at RSS headquarters, in Nagpur.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief leader Eknath Shinde on Thursday visited Reshimbagh in Nagpur and paid tributes to RSS founder Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and second Sarsanghchalak Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar.
However, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is the NCP President, skipped the event.
But, NCP MLA Raju Karemore, who represents the Tumsar seat, was part of the Maha Yuti-NDA team of ministers and legislators who visited the RSS complex.
The Smruti Mandir at Reshimbagh houses the memorials of 'Doctorji' and 'Guruji'.
Founded on September 27,1925, the RSS is into its centenary celebrations.
“Offered floral tributes to the RSS founder Sarsanghchalak ParamPujniya Dr Hedgewar ji and second Sarsanghchalak ParamPujniya Golwalkar Guruji at Smruti Mandir,” Fadnavis posted in X.
“I started from a Sangh Shakha. After that, I joined the Shiv Sena influenced by Balasaheb Thackeray and the late Anand Dighe,” said Shinde. “The ideology of RSS and Shiv Sena are similar…to work tirelessly without expecting anything,” he added.
State BJP President and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, Legislative Council Chairperson Prof Ram Shinde, Deputy Chairperson Dr Neelam Gorhe was part of the team led by Fadnavis, who comes from an RSS background and is considered very close to its leadership.
BJP MLCs Pravin Darekar and Prasad Lad, Shiv Sena ministers Sanjay Shirsat and Uday Samant were among those present.
The legislators also met senior RSS functionaries, who gave an overview of the work done by the Sangh-parivar.
During the winter session, BJP MLAs and MLCs visit the RSS Reshim Bagh complex and pay tributes to Doctorji and Guruji.
After the debacle in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, the RSS team has helped out the BJP-led Maha Yuti-NDA sweep the Vidhan Sabha polls and what was a drubbing to the Maha Vikas Aghadi-INDIA opposition alliance.
It may be mentioned, after the general elections, when the BJP’s numbers had come down, Pawar was under the fire of the RSS as articles in Sangh-parivar linked publications Organiser and Vivek had blamed him for BJP's poor performance in Maharashtra. However, in Assembly polls, the RSS helped out the alliance and negated the impact of the caste-politics.
Meanwhile, Karemore said that he has come on his own. “There were no instructions whatsoever from the party or anyone,” he said.