Rajnath pays tribute to martyrs of 1942 massacre in Odisha

Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh Sunday visited Eram in Odisha's Bhadrak district and offered floral tributes to the martyrs who were gunned down in 1942 by the British police.

He is also scheduled to address a public rally and hold a meeting with BJP booth-level workers in the district.

Accompanied by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and other BJP leaders, Singh reached Eram, about 50 km from here, around 1pm.

The Union home minister, after paying homage to the martyrs at Shaheed Stambha (martyrs' column), said the sacrifices of the CRPF soldiers in the recent Pulwama terror attack would not go in vain.

"The supreme sacrifice of the jawans (in Pulwama) will not go in vain," he told reporters.

Much like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, 29 people were killed in Eram, a remote village in Odisha's Bharak district, when the police opened fire at a crowd that had gathered to protest against the British regime.

Singh also offered prayers at Bhadra Kali temple here before heading for the public rally at Ranital, on the outskirts of Bhadrak town.