Lata Mangeshkar slams attempts to malign Veer Savarkar, lauds his patriotism after Congress' 'Two-Nation theory' attack

Slamming the comments against freedom fighter Veer Savarkar, Bharat Ratna awardee and acclaimed singer Lata Mangeshkar has tweeted her support saying that nowadays people condemning Veer Savarkar do not know about his patriotism and self-respect.

(Greetings. Today in Freedom hero Savarkar's birth anniversary. I bow down to his personality, his patriotism. Nowadays, some people are talking against him, but they do not know that Savarkar Ji was a great patriot and had a lot of self-respect.)

She also tweeted late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's speech on the late freedom fighter.

CONTROVERSIAL: Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel Says That Veer Savarkar Pitched Two-nation Theory Before Muhammad Ali Jinnah

Earlier in the day, reports emerged that Chhatisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, on Monday had said that it was Savarkar who coined the two nation theory. He said that Muhammad Ali Jinnah took forward the thought of Savarkar and he was the first to pitch the idea of carving out Pakistan from India before Independence.

"Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had first thought of the two-nation theory. His theory was taken forward by Muhammad Ali Jinnah," Baghel was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

"Savarkar had put forward the proposal of dividing the country into two parts on religious grounds and Jinnah had implemented it. This is a historical fact and no one can deny it," the Congress leader said.

PM Modi pays tributes Veer Savarkar, Says He Epitomises Courage And Commitment Towards Nation. Read Here

Meanwhile, PM-elect Narendra Modi paid tribute to Veer Savarkar and said that he has inspired many towards nation building.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar who is also known as Veer Savarkar was an Indian Independence hero, politician, lawyer and the formulator of 'Hindutva' philosophy. While he founded the Abhinav Bharat Society which wrote extensively on the Indian Independence movement, he was arrested and sentenced for revolutionary activities to two life terms of imprisonment totalling fifty years and was moved to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He was later released in 1921.