Row after govt declares Netaji birthday as ‘Parakram Diwas’
THIS YEAR, PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI WILL ATTEND THE PROGRAMME IN KOLKATA ON JANUARY 26
NEW DELHI: The Centre has announced to observe Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary on January 23 as ‘Parakram Diwas’, triggering a sharp response from political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in West Bengal.
The announcement was made on Tuesday by Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel, who also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend an event in Kolkata on the occasion of Bose’s 125th birth anniversary and inaugurate an exhibition at the National Library this year.
Accusing the Modi government of taking unilateral decisions, Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha member and party spokesperson Saugata Roy said: “West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has been demanding for years that January 23 be declared a national holiday and celebrated as ‘Desh
Nayak Diwas’. The name is appropriate because Rabindranath Tagore used to call Bose a ‘desh nayak’ (national hero). The Modi government takes all decisions unilaterally.”
Bose’s grandnephew and BJP leader Chandra Kumar Bose suggested that the day should be known as ‘Desh Prem Diwas’ (day of patriotism).
“#Netaji’s birthday on 23January is celebrated as #DeshPremDivas across the country by people from all religions, caste & creed as he was the #LiberatorofIndia & their own leader. Govt sponsorship is not required. However its time the GOI officially announce! @narendramodi @PMOIndia,” he tweeted.
Naren Chatterjee, state general secretary of the Forward Bloc, the party formed by Bose in 1939, also suggested that the day should be declared as ‘Desh Prem Diwas’. “This was the demand we had made when the Left Front was in power in Bengal. The Centre does not care for the sentiments of the public,” Chatterjee said.
However, BJP state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar told reporters that the Centre had chosen ‘Parakram Diwas’ keeping in mind Bose as a symbol of valour and patriotism for the country.