Maharashtra: Govt faces flak over August Kranti Day

The BJP and Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra faced flak from the opposition after most ministers stayed away from the historic August Kranti Maidan at Gowalia Tank on August Kranti Day on Sunday.

Education minister Vinod Tawade, however, paid his respects at the site where Mahatma Gandhi launched his Quit India movement on August 9, 1942.

Former chief minister and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Ashok Chavan said this was "unfortunate". He charged that the BJP or its mother body — the RSS — had no contribution to India's freedom struggle.

Countering this, BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye stated that the opposition was charging without proper information. He also tweeted photos of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and union minister Nitin Gadkari felicitating freedom fighters in Nagpur and inaugurating a 'Shaheed Smarak' there.