Pune: Great-grandson of freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak and president of Tilak Smarak Trust Rohit Tilak on Thursday asserted that the Lokmanya Tilak National Award was apolitical and opposition to the ceremony was unwarranted.Tilak’s statement came in response to Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut’s criticism of the trust for inviting Union home minister Amit Shah for the ceremony.The award would be conferred on national security adviser Ajit Doval on Aug 1 in the city. Shah would do the honours.Congress earlier warned of agitation against Shah, claiming that he was responsible for the police action against the protesters at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Raut also supported the Congress’ stand on Thursday and said the entire Pune should oppose Shah’s visit. “The student protesters faced violence because of Shah and therefore, he should not be invited for the event,” Raut said.Responding to Raut, Tilak said the Shiv Sena (UBT) member should not politicise the event. He said, “The award is given in the memory of Lokmanya Tilak and it is not related to any political party. Prime Ministers, Union ministers and personalities from various fields have been the recipients of the award in the past. It is purely an apolitical award and Raut’s criticism is unfortunate.”Similar controversy had erupted three years ago when the award was conferred on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress and other opposition parties had protested in Pune then also.“PM Modi was conferred with the award for his visionary initiatives like Atmanirbhar Bharat and National Education Policy. Some people had protested then also highlighting an incident of that time. Now, a similar protest is being planned based on recent developments,” Tilak added.
