Congress and BJP should stop invoking Savarkar, Nehru for their politics: Aaditya Thackeray

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday said Congress and the BJP should stop blaming Jawaharlal Nehru or Vinayak Damodar Savarkar for the sake of their politics, and instead talk about future.

Asked about Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi citing Savarkar's criticism of the Constitution, Thackeray said the discussion on the Constitution should focus on the country's future.

"You must have heard (Congress leader) Priyanka ji (saying) that how long are you going to invoke Nehru. I agree with her that both Congress and the BJP are national parties and they should not go into the past, in history, but talk about future," he told reporters here.

"How long are you going to blame Nehru or Savarkar? How long are you going to drag them in your politics? How long (you would) dwell on what happened 50, 100 years back? Today we need to talk about employment, inflation," Thackeray said.

He too liked history but it can not be a subject of politics, the Sena (UBT) leader said, adding, "You should talk about the history you want to create." Women, the youth, senior citizens, the employed and unemployed in Maharashtra are seeking answers to their issues, Thackeray said.

"Instead of going into what happened 50 years ago, or what Nehru or Savarkar did, let's talk about how we are going to give employment to our youth," said the former state minister.

Notably, the BJP has often tried to embarrass the Sena (UBT) by citing its ally Rahul Gandhi's criticism of Savarkar, a Hindutva icon whom the Uddhav Thackeray-led party reveres.