Shah, Bhagwat unveil statue of Savarkar in Andamans

Sri Vijaya Puram, Dec 12 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday unveiled a statue of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar at Beodnabad in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The statue has been installed in a park in the South Andaman district.

After the unveiling event at 3.15 pm, Shah and Bhagwat planted ‘Rudraksha’ trees inside the park.

The home minister and the RSS chief were greeted at the venue by D K Joshi, Lt Governor and Vice Chairman of the Islands Development Agency (IDA).

Shah and Bhagwat then left for the BR Ambedkar Institute of Technology (DBRAIT) in Sri Vijaya Puram, where a song on Savarkar will be released.

Savarkar was imprisoned in the Cellular Jail in Port Blair (now known as Sri Vijaya Puram) by the British in 1911.

Shah arrived here around 12.30 am, while Bhagwat reached the archipelago on Thursday evening, to commemorate 115 years of Savarkar's iconic song, 'Sagara Pran Talamala', officials said.

The home minister is likely to leave the islands on Friday evening.

Bhagwat is scheduled to address a public gathering on Saturday under the banner of 'Virat Hindu Sammelan' at Netaji Stadium around 3.30 pm in Sri Vijaya Puram, the officials said.

On Sunday, the RSS chief will attend another gathering at DBRAIT around 10 am, and depart from the archipelago at 1.50 pm, they added. PTI SN RBT