Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday played what critics called the “Netaji card” to balance out the apparent advantage that the BJP might have drawn out of the Monday’s inauguration of Ram Temple at Ayodhya wondering why despite repeated requests there was no move from the Centre to declare a national holiday on January 23, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary.
Though she would refer to any particular event like the consecration ceremony at Ram Temple, the Chief Minister said “whereas holidays are being declared for political publicity around certain events … no effort is being made to celebrate a national hero like Netaji by declaring a national holiday on his birth anniversary.” While delivering a speech after paying homage at the statue of the national icon Banerjee said that she was ashamed and sad that despite repeated reminders to the powers that be no holiday was being declared by the Centre. Tuesday was the national icon’s 127 th birth anniversary. “I feel shame and sad that holidays are given for political programmes to gain publicity and not to commemorate our national heroes who laid down their lives for the (freedom of) the country,” the Chief Minister said adding she had for the past two decades had been writing letters to the Centre to consider January 23 as a holiday but nothing was being done about that.
“For the last 20 years I have been fighting to get Netaji’s anniversary declared as a national holiday … I have written several letters to the Centre for that but nothing has been done towards this … I am sorry and sad for this,” Banerjee who on Monday came down heavily on the Centre for playing divisive politics and setting the nation to fire said.
While the Centre and some other States had declared a half-day holiday on Monday, States like Uttar Pradesh had announced a full day leave for the people to celebrate the consecration ceremony at Ram Temple.
Banerjee also attacked the BJP for showing the “biggest dishonor” to Netaji by doing away with the Planning Commission as soon as it came to power. “They did away with Planning Commission which was conceptualized by Netaji and replaced it with Niti Ayog which is nothing but a powerless institution … a wax statue,” she said. The BJP immediately hit her back for maintaining hypocritical standards. “Unlike others who she blame it is Mamata Banerjee is trying to politicize Netaji’s anniversary … she should remember that she bears the legacy of the Congress Party and has not shunned that yet … it is the same Congress Party leaders which did everything to defame, embarrass and even decimate Netaji’s name and his contribution to Indian freedom struggle,” Bengal BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said.
The CPI(M) which is a political ally of Forward Bloc a Left Front constituent once led by Netaji attacked both the Centre and the State Government for their alleged “duplicity.”
Left Front chairman Biman Bose said, while the Left Government had declared Netaji’s anniversary as Desh Prem Diwas neither the Centre nor the State had done anything about that. “Now some people are shedding crocodile tears but they don’t celebrate this day as Desh Prem Diwas that we had declared when we were in power,” Bose a CPI(M) politburo member said.