CUTTACK: With the year-long 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose set to commence from January 23, residents of Cuttack city, his birth place, have once again raised the demand for currency notes featuring the great freedom fighter.
Seven years back, the then President of India Pranab Mukherjee had accepted a proposal for imprinting the image of Bose on Indian currency notes. Though the proposal was forwarded to Reserve Bank of India (RBI), it is yet to be carried out with both the Centre and State government remaining silent on the matter.
Sib Charan Bose of Alamchand Bazar here had written a letter to Mukherjee requesting him for imprint of Bose’s image on the currency notes. Accepting the proposal, Mukherjee had forwarded the letter to RBI for necessary action. On August 1, 2013, RBI had intimated Sib Charan that the bank keeps receiving suggestions from members of public for including luminaries, monuments, photographs etc. in currency notes. However, the final decision would taken by the Government of India.
Later, Sib Charan also sought clarification from Department of Economic Affairs (C&C), Ministry of Finance in this regard. “Since then, I have been writing letters to the leaders including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee but no step has been initiated in this connection,” said Sib Charan while criticising both the Centre and the State government for the “apathy to commemorate the legendary freedom fighter”.