"When I accepted the invite to be a part of this event, someone asked me Nana Patil was a communist and Shiv Sena is against communists. I told him, yes, we are against communists. But, this man (Patil) understood that the British will not leave the country only by Swaraj and peaceful means and they need to be given a jolt, which he did," Uddhav said.
Thackeray further described Patil, who was a CPI MP from Satara, as a man who lived for the poor and dedicated his life for the country.
"I do not care if he was a communist. What is more important is that he was a freedom fighter. Today it is our government at the Centre and in the state. We also have hold over the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). We will construct a befitting memorial for Nanasaheb in Mumbai that will make the whole country proud," he said.
He died on December 6, 1976.