West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata BanerjeeWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that it was a “big insult” to the people of the state that Rabindranath Tagore’s stolen Nobel Prize medallion could not be recovered by the CBI although it has been 18 years since the theft took place.
The medal and citation were found stolen from the safety vault of the Visva Bharati museum on March 25, 2004. The then Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led government had promptly handed over the case to the CBI which closed the probe into the matter in 2009.
Addressing a state government’s programme to mark the Nobel laureate’s 181st birthday, the CM said, “It was our first Nobel Prize and someone stole it. The incident took place during the Left regime. It is unfortunate and extremely painful for all of us that the Nobel could not be traced even after so many years.” “It was a matter of pride for us. We are the first who got it. But we failed to preserve it. It is a great disgrace. The prize may have been stolen, Rabindranath inscribed it in our hearts. I do not know all evidences were preserved or not but it is our great disgrace,” she added.
CM gets Bangla Academy award
CM Mamata Banerjee on Monday got the first Bangla Academy award for her poetry book ‘Kabita Bitan’. State Education Minister and Bangla Academy chairman Bratya Basu announced the her name for this year’s award.
Best of Express Premium
He said, “The Bangla Academy award started this year. Those who continuously contributing to Bengali literature and working for the society will be selected for the award. This year, we decided to give award to Mamata Banerjee with the opinion of our poets and literary team.”
BJP sees TMC link to medal theft, ruling party hits back
Kolkata: BJP leader Rahul Sinha on Monday claimed that the ruling party Trinamool has links with the Rabindranath Tagore Nobel Prize medallion theft incident.
Speaking to mediapersons after a function the party organised to pay homage to Tagore on his 181st birthday, Sinha said, “The state government was non-cooperative in all possible ways when attempts were being made to search the Nobel Prize. Now they are asking where the Prize is. The TMC government has links to incidents of theft, corruption and rape.”
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh hit back at Sinha over his comment, saying, “He is a loser. He contested one after another elections only to lose. I don’t feel like responding to his comments. The CBI has filed several petitions in the court to investigate the theft and launched an investigation six days after the incident. But nothing happened.” Sinha is lying and is talking nonsense, he claimed.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
