Ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha polls, political parties in West Bengal seem to be engaged in a battle over the legacy of Subhas Chandra Bose, leaving no stone unturned to encash on Netaji's public image.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee presided over the celebration at Darjeeling Chowrasta in the heart of the hill town.

She rued that the Centre had not declared the birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as a national holiday befitting his stature.

"It seems they (the Centre) do not consider him (Netaji) a national leader...Netaji had talked of togetherness and unity of all people of the country," Mamata said, adding a person who takes people from all sections along was the only "true leader".

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for the last few years since the Centre's decision to declassify files on Netaji lying with the government in 2016, has claimed that it was the Narendra Modi government which had given due respect to the "unsung hero" of India's freedom struggle.

"The Congress has always tried to highlight the achievements of Gandhi family as if no one else has any contribution towards the country's freedom struggle or development post independence.

"The Congress has always neglected the legacy of icons like Netaji and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. But it is the Modi government which has given due respect to Netaji," BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said.

Listing out various steps taken by the Modi government to honour the freedom fighter's invaluable contribution towards the country's freedom struggle, Ghosh said neither Congress nor the CPI(M) or TMC had done anything to honour Netaji.

According to state BJP sources, during the Lok Sabha polls campaign, especially in Bengal, the party will propagate various initiatives taken by the BJP government to honour - Netaji- one of the biggest icons of India and Bengal.

Incidently, BJP national president Amit Shah while kicking off the Lok Sabha polls campaign in Bengal from a rally at Malda on Tuesday also invoked Netaji and referred to Modi naming three islands in Andaman & Nicobar after the leader.

He had also accussed the Congress of trying to ignore Netaji's legacy and ensure that people of this country forgot the contribution of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

The Bengal Congress unit, which organised various programs across the state to celebrate the day, hit out at the comments of Shah.

"The Planning Commission of India was a brainchild of Netaji and what the BJP did after coming to power in 2014 was to replace it with Niti Aayog," PCC chief Somen Mitra said.

Prime minister Narendra Modi had last year hoisted the national flag at the historic Red Fort to mark the 75th anniversary of proclamation of the Azad Hind government by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

He had also announced that a national award in the name of Subhash Chandra Bose will be given every year to police personnel who do excellent work in rescue and relief operations during any kind of disaster.

While celebrating the 122nd birth anniversary celebrations of Netaji, BJP organised programs at various parts of the state.

The Trinamool Congress too organised various rallies and colourful processions throughout the state to mark the day.

State Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee and Urban Development Minister and city mayor Firhad Hakim garlanded the statue of Netaji at Esplanade here.

The Left Front, of which the All India Forward Bloc - a party formed by Netaji, is also a ally, organised 'Desh Prem Diwas' across the state. The Left Front has written a letter to the prime minister requesting him to announce January 23 as 'Desh Prem Diwas'.

The Left Front took out rallies in the city and various parts of the state to mark his birth anniversary.

"We had earlier written to PM requesting him to declare January 23 as Desh Prem Diwas, but the Centre is yet to take a call on it," Left Front chairman Biman Bose said.

Meanwhile, Governor K N Tripathi and former governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi attended a programme at Netaji Bhavan here where they participated in an oration held to celebrate the leader's birthday.

Gopal Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, said the trust which marked the "equation between Mahatma Gandhi and Subhas Bose, between Jawaharlal Nehru and Bose" and the trust witnessed after the Independence "between personalities like Ambedkar and Congress" leadership was conspicuous by its absence now.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)