West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday took a swipe at the Narendra Modi government’s decision to celebrate the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as ‘Parakram Diwas’. Mamata referred to the decision as she kicked off a grand procession in Kolkata to pay tribute to Bose on his 125th birth anniversary.
Before the commencement of the procession from Syambazar area in the northern part of the city, Banerjee blew a conch shell and a siren was sounded at 12.15pm, the time when Bose was born on this day in 1897.
"We do not celebrate Netaji's birthday only in the years when elections are scheduled. We are celebrating his 125th birth anniversary in a grand fashion. Rabindranath Tagore described Netaji as Deshnayak. That is why we have decided to celebrate this day as Deshnayak Diwas," she said.
"Netaji was one of the greatest freedom fighters of the country. He was a great philosopher," she said.
"I don't understand the word 'parakram'... I understand his (Netaji's) 'desh prem'. Netaji is a philosophy... an emotion... he believed in the unity of religions… Why have we declared today 'Deshnayak Diwas'? Because Tagore gave him the title... because Netaji gave Tagore's song recognition as anthem,” Banerjee was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Banerjee also urged the Centre to declare Netaji's birthday as a national holiday.
Hundreds of people, several senior leaders of Trinamool Congress and MLAs joined the procession to pay their tribute to the freedom fighter. Chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and other bureaucrats of the state government were also present in the rally.
(With PTI inputs)
