Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said here on Monday that he had come to offer tribute and respect to Balasaheb who has been a father figure to many.
"We had come here to offer our tribute and respect to Balasaheb. He has been a father figure to many," Fadnavis said.
Bal Keshav Thackeray, one of most polarising politicians and founder of the influential Shiv Sena, that has dominated politics in the country's richest city, Mumbai for two decades, died aged 86 in 2012.
He was one of the most prominent and outspoken figures of Hindu nationalist movement, and rose to prominence with his fiery rhetoric against immigration in the business capital.
The founder and president of the hardliner Shiv Sena party, Bal Thackeray, was as famous for his saffron-coloured robes, white beard and tinted sunglasses as his firebrand rhetoric on social issues such as immigration and communalism.
Bal Thackeray's son and chief of Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray paid floral tribute at his memorial earlier in the day. Senior leader of the party Manohar Joshi and others also paid respects.
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Joshi said best way to remember Bal Thackeray was by doing what he envisioned for western Maharashtra state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, 'The life of Pujya Balasaheb Thackeray continues to inspire us. He lives in the hearts of millions.'
Bal Thackeray called for the formation of Hindu suicide squads and even ordered followers to dig up a cricket pitch to stop the Pakistani team from playing in Mumbai.
Thackeray's death made the front-page headlines in the country's
leading English newspapers.