CM Adhikari leads Har Ghar Tiranga Yatra in Kolkata

Whorls of tri-colour on Monday overflew and covered parts of central Kolkata, with a sea of humanity joining Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in the first-ever official Har Ghar Tiranga Yatra organised in the State.

Several thousand people joined the rally — raising slogans of Jai Hind and Vande Mataram — that started at the junction of Eden Gardens and Akashvani Bhavan off Calcutta High Court and stamped down the iconic Red Road before culminating at the Victoria Memorial.

Even as the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign took place officially for the first time in Bengal months after the BJP roared to power, the Chief Minister walked down the central business district flanked by a galaxy of his cabinet colleagues and senior bureaucrats, including the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, all joining the rendition of Vande Mataram.  The Chief Minister was joined among others by State Transport Minister Arjun Singh, Health Minister Sharadwata Mukhopadhyay and other BJP MLAs.

At the end of the rally, the Chief Minister once again announced the Government’s plans to distribute 70 lakh tri-colour flags across the State as part of the Tiranga initiative. “This yatra is aimed at inspiring nationalistic fervour in the region,” Adhikari said, reiterating “as the Chief Minister I want to announce that Bengal has officially joined the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign with the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary officially taking part in it” and “we will take a programme to distribute 70 lakh tri-colour flags throughout the State.”

Bengal had lacked initiative to celebrate the Tiranga programme during the previous Mamata Banerjee Government.

“Today Kolkata has become a sea of Tri-Colour,” Adhikari declared, appealing to the people in general to hoist the Tri-colour flag in their respective homes. “I appeal to you all, my fellow citizens, to hoist the Tiranga in your respective homes,” he said.