NEW DELHI: Political squabbles have erupted between the BJP and West Bengal’s ruling TMC over the installation of a statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose at the India
Gate in New Delhi.
A day after welcoming the Centre’s decision to install the statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose beneath a canopy at India Gate, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday asked the central government to declare national holiday on Netaji’s birthday.
“We again appeal to the Central government that Netaji’s birthday be declared a National Holiday to allow the entire nation to pay homage to the National leader and celebrate #DeshNayakDibas in most befitting manner”, she tweeted, adding that a national university - the Jai Hind University, was planned to be opened in West Bengal by the state government in honour of Netaji.
Slamming the BJP–led government in the Centre, Mamata said the decision to install the Netaji’s statue was taken under the TMC’s pressure.
“Those dividing the nation should read Netaji”, she said a day after her party termed the centre’s decision aimed at diverting the people’s protest erupted against the rejection of West Bengal’s tableau on Netaji for the Republic Day parade.
“The real tribute would have been the Centre taking steps to unravel the mystery shrouding Netaji’s disappearance”, the TMC said on Saturday.
Amid all this, the workers of TMC and the BJP also reportedly clashed in Kolkata when BJP's Arjun Singh went to pay homage and garland the bust of Netaji.
TMC's Sunday attack came on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi installed a hologram statue of Netaji at India Gate till a statue of granite is installed beneath a canopy.
In a way to counter the Centre’s decision to install the Netaji statue, Mamata has announced to set up a separate Bengal Planning Commission drawing inspiration from Netaji’s concept on National Planning Commission.
Slamming Mamata's offensive, BJP’s national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia asked the TMC supremo not to play politics with the decision to install the state of Netaji. “Netaji belongs to everyone, not just to Mamata Banerjee, so she should not speak in the language of politics”, he said. BJP MP Dilip Ghosh also talking to media said that the BJP-led centre government has bestowed honour by taking a decision to install a statue of Netaji at India Gate. He said that the Central government’s gesture expresses immense love for the brave soul of our country and the TMC should not play politics with such decision