Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said that if Veer Savarkar would have been India's prime minister then Pakistan would not have even born. The Shiv Sena demanded Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, for Veer Savarkar, and said that the NDA government is Hindutva government.

"If Veer Savarkar would have been the Prime Minister of this country then Pakistan would not have even born. Our government is Hindutva govt and today also I demand Bharat Ratna for Veer Savarkar," Thackeray said while speaking at the launch of a biography titled "Savarkar: Echoes From A Forgotten Past".

The Shiv Sena chief said that he would not deny the work done by Mahatma Gandhi and India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the development of the country but Indian politics is more than just two families. We don't deny the work done by (Mahatma) Gandhi and (first PM Jawaharlal) Nehru, but the country saw more than two families being born on the political scene," Thackeray said, adding, "I'd have called Nehru as Veer (brave) if he had survived jail for 14 minutes against Savarkar who stayed in prison for 14 long years."

Thackeray also took a dig at former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has targeted Savarkar severla times in the past, and said that the Gandhi scion should read the new book and know more about Savarkar and his works. It may be recalled that in the run-up to 2019 Lok Sabha poll, Rahul Gandhi had said at an election rally that Veer Savarkar had apologised to the Britishers in order to seek freedom from jail. Veer Savarkar is believed to have popularised the term "Hindutva".