In an apparent bid to counter BJP’s “Hindutva” by a veiled “Bengali Asmita”, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday reiterated her demand to declare
the birthdays of Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as national holidays and pulled up the Centre for doing away with Planning Commission which was once conceived by Netaji himself.
Days after writing to the Centre to consider the birthdays of the country’s two great icons born in Bengal Banerjee told a gathering at Netaji’s 121st birth day that the country wanted to know about the last moments of Netaji and it was the duty of the Govern-ment to tell them about that.
“It is a shame that we are still in the dark about the final moments of Netaji. The country men want to know about his last moments. Sharing details about that is the duty of the Government,” she said. She also wondered why the “Planning Commission which was conceived by Netaji was dissolved.”
The history of Planning Commission was the history of India’s growth and her development into a powerful nation and dissolution of the august body was “anything but honouring Netaji,” she said.
She said, “I have already written o the Prime Minister that Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose are national and international icons which is why their birthdays should be declared by the Government of India as national holidays.”
Curiously enough Banerjee’s demand comes six years after her coming to power at a time when the BJP has expanded its base to a great extent in Bengal.
According to Trinamool insiders a large number of disgruntled Trinamool men had started contacting former Railway Minister Mukul Roy who had recently left TMC and joined the BJP.
Banerjee feels threatened by reported but steady migration from Trinamool to the BJP which is why she has
taken up the cause of Bengali Asmita or Bengali pride to counter Hindutva brigade, experts said.