Bengal’s Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, led a march through Kolkata to honor Netaji
Highlight
- Trinamool and BJP are fighting for the anniversary of Netaji’s birth
- Mamata Banerjee led a march through Kolkata to honor Netaji
- He also announced that a university under the Netaji name will soon be established.
Calcutta:
The battle for Bengal, to be fought at the polls in a couple of months from now, is being fought today in Kolkata over the legacy of the iconic freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
Ruler Trinamool and opponent BJP are locked in a bitter dispute over who best honors the legendary Netaji on his 124th birthday.
On Saturday, hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Kolkata to participate in a series of cultural events in honor of his memory, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attacked the center for failing to declare the national holiday and not building a monument. to freedom. fighter.
“I protest the center’s decision not to declare Netaji’s birth anniversary a national holiday yet. They are building a new parliament and buying new planes … why isn’t there a monument for Netaji?” asked the Chief Minister at the end of a vigorous four-mile march through the city.
“You can name any port after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee … we have no objection. But I got Rajiv Gandhi to name Kolkata airport after Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose,” continued Ms Banerjee.
The Chief Minister was referring to the center’s decision in June last year to rename the Kolkata Port Trust in honor of Bharatiya founder Jan Sangh, who later became BJP.
He also criticized the center for abolishing the Planning Commission conceptualized by Netaji and replacing it with the NITI Aayog. “The center has to bring back the Planning Commission,” he said.
The chief minister also redoubled her morning criticism, when she criticized the center for choosing to call today. ”Parakram Diwas‘, instead of ‘Deshnayak Diwas‘as she wanted.
“What is the meaning of ‘Parakram Diwas‘? If you didn’t want to consult me, could you have consulted with Sugata Bose (Netaji’s great-nephew, president of the Netaji Research Office and former Trinamool MP)? If your action is wrong, we will give you a reaction, “he stated.
“I do not understand the word”parakram‘… I understand your (Netaji’s)’desh prem‘. Netaji is a philosophy … an emotion … he believed in the unity of religions, “Ms. Banerjee said this morning.
A monument bearing the name of Azad Hind Fauj will be built in Rajarhat. A university named after Netaji is also being created, which will be fully funded by the state and will have links with foreign universities. #DeshNayakDibas (2/3)
– Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) January 23, 2021
“Why have we declared today?Deshnayak Diwas‘? Because Tagore gave it the title … because Netaji recognized Tagore’s song as an anthem, “he added.
Ms Banerjee’s march was also a show of force and an effort to showcase Trinamool’s efforts to present itself as a local party, rather than “outsiders” – its standard attack on the BJP, whom it accuses of flying for ask. for votes and then fly again.
The Prime Minister, meanwhile, when he lands in Kolkata (he is currently in Assam, also voting later this year, where he presided over a land award ceremony), he will attend the opening of a permanent exhibition on Subhas Chandra Bose at the Victoria Monument.
PM Modi will also make a short stop at the Netaji Research Office. NRB sources said the Prime Minister was welcomed as the country’s leader, but not as that of a political party.
Before the Bengal elections, Netaji’s legacy has been drawn into a political struggle (Archive)
Earlier this week, after the center said today would be held as’ParakramDiwas‘, the Trinamool snapped back, calling it a move linked to upcoming polls.
The Bengal Assembly election has seen Trinamool and the BJP attacking each at every opportunity.
Ms Banerjee remains confident of winning re-election, but many believe her hopes have been severely damaged by the massive wave of defections from her party, the most recent of which is likely to be Forestry Minister Rajib Banerjee, who resigned from his post on Friday and is expected to join the BJP on January 31, in the presence of Interior Minister Amit Shah.
The ruling party, however, has played down these setbacks, comparing the Trinamool to an ocean and saying that “a couple of jugs of water taken from it make no difference.”
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