Netaji's kin demand his statue at India Gate

The kin of Subhas Chandra Bose on Thursday demanded a statue of the leader at India Gate in the national capital and declaration of his birthday on January 23 as "Liberation Day".

The demand comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a 182-metre-tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, considered to be the tallest in the world, in Gujarat.

The imposing monument -- the Statue of Unity -- is built near the Sardar Sarovar dam in Gujarat's Narmada district.

"NDA government under the leadership of @narendramodi ji kept its commitment by unveiling #SardarVallabhaiPatel's statue on 31Oct 2018 & celebrating the day as #UnityDay. Demand rising to unveil a statue of the #LiberatorofIndia-on 23 Jan'19 at #IndiaGate Delhi & declare the day as #LiberationDay (sic)," Netaji's grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose said in a tweet.

When contacted, Chandra Kumar Bose, who is also a vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) West Bengal unit, told PTI that the statue near India Gate was a demand of several Indian National Army (INA) and Army veterans.

The prime minister had, on October 21, hoisted the national flag at the Red Fort and unveiled a plaque to mark the 75th anniversary of the proclamation of the Azad Hind government by Subhas Chandra Bose.

This was the first time the prime minister hoisted the national flag at the ramparts of the historic Red Fort for the second time in a year. Traditionally, the prime minister unfurls the tricolour at the Red Fort on Independence Day.

Modi had also announced a national award in the name of Subhas Chandra Bose, to be given every year to those police personnel who do excellent work in rescue-and-relief operations during any kind of disaster.