Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday asserted that he has never insulted any national icon, and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders of doing so and not apologising for it.

Pawar said he supports the use of the epithet "Swarajya-rakshak" (protector of Swarajya -- the independent Maratha state) for Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of the founder of the Maratha empire Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, as it does justice to his accomplishments.