The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was speaking at the launch of the book “Veer Savarkar” here on Saturday.

It was unfortunate that a person (Savarkar) and his family who gave everything for the country had to face insults, Gadkari said. Savarkar had said Hindutva is all-inclusive and free from casteism and communalism, the minister pointed out.

Savarkar was a social reformer, and he is a role model for us,” he said. Without naming anyone, Gadkari said it was very unfortunate that chapters on Dr Hedgewar and Savarkar were being removed from the school syllabus, and “there is nothing as painful as this.”

The Indian and Hindu culture propagated by Savarkar and Swami Vivekananda was the same, the BJP leader said, adding the young generation should be made aware of their ideology and also the sacrifices made by Savarkar for the country.