Failure in Nobel theft case big insult: Didi
Paying homage to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore on his 161st birth anniversary, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday regretted that Tagore's Nobel Prize was yet to be recovered and lamented the closure of the probe by the CBI.
However, a TMC MLA made a controversial claim on the theft of the Nobel Prize of the iconic poet. Man Gobinda Adhikari, the legislator of Bhatar in Burdwan East, alleged that the Nobel was stolen by the youth of the state because Tagore was “insulted” by the presentation of the award to him.
His stunning remarks came hours before chief minister lamented the closure of the probe. The BJP accused the TMC of the theft and opposing the CBI.
On Monday morning, Mr Adhikari said, “There is a reason behind the theft of Nobel medallion of Tagore. Tagore was insulted by it. So our boys (from Bengal) stole it.
Now the BJP is bragging about the CBI. But the CBI could not recover it. Today you see that the Bengal police has again been entrusted for finding the Nobel Prize. The CBI has been told to share all the information so that the state police can make the recovery.”
On Monday afternoon, Ms Banerjee said, “I still feel sad that Tagore’s Nobel is yet to be recovered. A long time has passed. The incident happened during the Left Front rule. The CBI was entrusted with the probe.
But it perhaps closed the case. I do not know whether all the evidence exists. But it is a big dishonour for us. It hurts us deeply. We were first to get such a big prize. And someone took it away. But Tagore can not be forgotten even if the Nobel is gone. He inscribed the Nobel in our hearts.”
State BJP leader Rahul Sinha, however, argued, “This government has not cooperated with the CBI since beginning so that the stolen prize could not be found. It has created obstruction to the CBI.”