Darjeeling: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday hit out at the Centre for not declaring Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary as a nationwide holiday and said it seems BJP does not consider him as a national leader. Her comment comes on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Subhash Chandra Bose museum at the iconic Red Fort to mark the nationalist leader’s birth anniversary. “It seems they do not consider him (Netaji) to be a national leader,” she said at a programme held here to celebrate the 122nd birth anniversary of Bose.
Banerjee said Netaji had taken with him people from all communities and races for the fight for Independence, from the Darjeelings hills to those in other parts of the country for forming the Indian National Army (INA). “Netaji had talked of togetherness and unity of all people of the country,” she said, adding a person who takes people from all sections along is a “true leader”.
This is also the reason why Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Babasaheb Ambedkar were great national leaders, she said. “We will be successful only when we are together,” she said at the programme organised at Chowrasta, popularly known as the Mall in the heart of the hill town. “It is still not clear what happened to Netaji on his disappearance,” she added.
