Amit Shah, who is on a three-day tour of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, paid floral tributes to the martyrs of the freedom struggle at the Shaheed Stambh in the Cellular Jail. He said that this was the place where many known or unknown freedom fighters suffered inhuman torture and made supreme sacrifices for India's freedom struggle.

 

"The Cellular Jail built by the British is the most important place of pilgrimage for the countrymen and that is why Veer Savarkar used to say that this is a great pilgrimage place, where many martyrs sacrificed their lives to ignite the light of freedom," he said.

 

Referring to the ongoing ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', Shah said that this is a year to dedicate oneself again to the country by taking inspiration from India's freedom struggle, it is a year to resolve how great a country India will be at the time of hundred years of its Independence.

 

The Home Minister also said that Vijayadashami is celebrated as a symbol of victory of good over evil and the Cellular Jail also symbolises the victory of good over evil.

 

Paying rich tributes to Savarkar, Shah said that the title of ‘Veer' was not given by the government to him, but it was given by the crores of people to acknowledge his valour and patriotism.

 

"Today some people are questioning Savarkar. It hurts when the person who was punished twice in his life is being questioned for his patriotism," Shah said, adding that the people of the country have prefixed the word 'Veer' before Savarkar's name with great respect and reverence, which no one can erase.

 

Shah said that to resolve the connectivity problem faced by the people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the Submarine Optical Fiber Scheme in 2018, which was inaugurated by him in 2020 .