Kolkata, Sep 8 (PTI) Mocking the BJP-led Centre’s move to unveil a 28-foot statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate, the TMC on Thursday claimed that the saffron camp was making a “weak” attempt to redeem for the “neglect” meted out to the freedom fighter by the party’s forerunner, Jan Sangh.
TMC spokesperson Joy Prakash Majumdar also said that the BJP seemed to have “suddenly woken up to the valour of Netaji with an eye on vote bank”.
The saffron party, however, argued that everyone was aware of the way the Congress leadership had treated Bose, and the TMC, being an offshoot of the grand old party, had no moral right to talk about ways to show respect to Netaji.
Majumdar, talking to PTI, said, “The ideology of the BJP and the RSS is antithetical to that of Subhas Chandra Bose, who believed in inclusiveness and dreamt about a secular, democratic, independent and prosperous India. The BJP seems to have suddenly woken up to the valour of Netaji with an eye on vote bank.” He said that “Jan Sangh had never acknowledged the role of the iconic leader” in India’s freedom struggle and all along projected Vinayak Damodar Savarkar as the national hero.
Taking a jibe at Modi, the TMC leader said that the PM “chose a day of his convenience for the unveiling ceremony, amid other work, having forgotten occasions like his birthday, Republic day or Independence Day.” In a sharp retort, BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said his party was far more connected with the people of the country and their sentiments, and the TMC need not give it sermons.
“The Congress had long forfeited its right to speak about Netaji as we know how its national leadership had treated the leader in the pre-Independence period. The TMC, being an offshoot of Congress, cannot be any better.” “Netaji is an icon for the people of Bengal. Narendra Modi has done the right thing by installing his statue. The Congress or UPA had never thought about this when they were at the helm at the Centre. The BJP is more connected with the people of this country, not the TMC,” Bhattacharya said.
Meanwhile, Netaji’s family member Chandra Kumar Bose, too, pointed out that the unveiling ceremony should have been done on a day that was in some way relevant to the iconic leader “Netaji ‘s statue cannot be unveiled on just another day. The day must have relevance to the #Liberator of India who fought the first battle for India’s freedom,” he tweeted. PTI SUS RMS RMS
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