After Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah today said that Veer Savarkar’s contributions to the Indian freedom struggle will be remembered forever.

Savarkar turned Cellular Jail into a ‘teerthsthan’ (shrine) and gave a message to the world that they may mete out as much torture as they want but can’t block his rights, said Shah.

Addressing the gathering at Cellular Jail in Port Blair, Shah also remembered Sachin Sanyal saying he was the only one among all these freedom fighters who was sent twice to ‘Kala Paani’.

“Today, I visited the cell of Sachin Sanyal and garlanded his portrait. It was an emotional moment for a person like me,” he said.

The Home Minister also remembered the contribution of West Bengal in the freedom struggle. 

“West Bengal has made great contributions to our freedom struggle. When I came here, I respectfully read the list of the names of all the freedom fighters that were kept here until 1938. Bengal & Punjab have the pride of having the highest number of freedom fighters,” he said.

Shah is on a three-day visit to Andaman and Nicobar Islands and shortly after his arrival visited the National Memorial Cellular Jail and laid a wreath at the Martyrs’ Column.

He also took a tour of VD Savarkar’s cell and paid homage to the freedom fighter.

On Wednesday, Shah will undertake an aerial survey of various development initiatives, including the Shaheed Dweep eco-tourism project and the Swaraj Dweep Water Aerodrome.

He will also visit Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Island during the day.

Shah is expected to attend a programme to be organised by A&N Police on Sunday.

On October 12, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailed Veer Savarkar as a staunch nationalist and India’s first military strategist in the 20th century. He also said that it was on Mahatma Gandhi’s request that he wrote mercy petitions to the British and people from the Marxist and Leninist ideology wrongly accuse him as a fascist.

His statement invited sharp reactions from Congress and other parties with Jairam Ramesh accusing him of trying to rewrite history.