JOIN USBJP, TMC in war over Netaji’s legacy — Here's who said what
Today India celebrates the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, a name that is etched as one of the greatest ever freedom fighters in the nation's history. Netaji in his early life fought for India's freedom by engaging in politics, but later he left that avenue to lead an armed movement against the British India empire and commandeered the Indian National Army. Netaji is an immortal icon of India and especially and West Bengal, so it does not come as a surprise that both the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP are vying to claim his legacy with the state Assembly elections just around the corner.
Recently, TMC supremo and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to declare January 23 as a national holiday. “I would like to request for your kind personal intervention to see that the Central government declares 23rd January, Netaji’s birthday, a National Holiday, and also takes appropriate steps to give a conclusive position to the issue relating to the disappearance of Netaji and unravel the truth...” wrote Mamata.
She further said that the state government had already declassified several files regarding the disappearance of Netaji and placed them in the public domain and the Centre should take necessary action to provide a “conclusive picture” to the issue.
The Centre has declared Netaji's birthday as 'Parakram Diwas' or valour day and has also planned a host of programmes for the day. This had not gone down well with the TMC. Banerjee said, “I don't know the exact meaning of 'Parakram', maybe there are three to four meanings, so I can't discuss now,” apparently referring to BJP's 'outsider' tag.
TMC Lok Sabha MP Saugata Roy joined in the chorus and said, “It’s another unilateral decision by the Modi government. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been demanding for years that January 23 be declared as a national holiday and celebrated as ‘Desh Nayak Diwas’, which is the appropriate name because Rabindranath Tagore called Bose a ‘desh er nayak’ (hero of the nation).”
Even Chandra Kumar Bose, Netaji's grandnephew and a BJP leader said that Netaji was India’s liberator and people have been celebrating January 23 as ‘Deshprem Diwas’. In his opinion, it would’ve been more appropriate, had the government announced it as 'Deshprem Diwas'.
The BJP, on the other hand, is leaving no stone unturned to honour Netaji and portray themselves as the rightful follower of the great man. Minister of Culture and Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel recently announced that a commemorative coin and postage stamp will be released on January 23, and an international conference ‘Re-visiting the legacy of Netaji Subhash in the 21st century’ and an Artists' Camp have also being organised at National Library, Kolkata on the same day.
Meanwhile, Anil Firojiya, a BJP MP from the Alot Lok Sabha constituency in Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged that the country's highest civilian honour be conferred on Netaji. Earlier, TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy had demanded that a book chronicling the history of Azad Hind Fauj (INA) and compiled by the history division of the defence ministry decades ago should be made public as it says Netaji did not die in a plane crash.
Stating that Subhas Chandra Bose played a major role in India’s freedom struggle, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj asked, "Why is his death still a mystery? Why did Pandit Nehru not conduct any enquiry? Pandit Nehru was nowhere in comparison to the popularity of Netaji."
PM Narendra Modi paid homage to freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary and said a grateful nation will always remember his sacrifice and dedication for its independence.