'They Would Have Asked Even Netaji To Prove Citizenship': CM Mamata Banerjee's Attack On EC Over SIR On Subhas Chandra Bose Jayanti

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Speaking at an event on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary, the TMC leader accused the BJP and the central government of insulting national icons such as Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, and B. R. Ambedkar. She also accused those in power at the Centre of attempting to distort India’s history.

She questioned why, despite Netaji’s contribution to the freedom struggle, his birth anniversary has not been declared a national holiday.

She also attacked the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, claiming that they would have asked even Netaji to prove his citizenship if he were alive today.

"If Subhas Bose were alive today, he would have been summoned for (SIR) hearing as well, citing logistical discrepancies, and asked to prove if he is Indian," the Chief Minister said, adding that Netaji’s great-grandnephew, Chandra Kumar Bose, has already been summoned by the poll body.

"There is an attempt to distort India's history. Saints and sages are being insulted, be it Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, or Babasaheb Ambedkar. There is intolerance, distasteful remarks, ungratefulness, and disrespect towards them and the language. Will Bengal accept this?" Banerjee said at the event.

Invoking Netaji’s iconic ‘Dilli Chalo’ slogan, she accused ‘Delhi’—a metonym for the central government—of conspiring against Bengal. "It is now chokrantonagari (city of conspiracies). It is always conspiring against Bengal. We will unite against them to protect our culture and language," CM Banerjee said.

She further said, "From Netaji to Patel, those who dreamt of an independent India, their dreams are being shattered today. They are trying to impose their history, which has nothing to do with our country's history. The Constitution is being humiliated. People are being deprived, and their rights are being taken away. Democracy is being stripped naked."