West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has once again lashed out at the central government and the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Speaking from the Netaji commemoration stage in Kolkata on Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary, she questioned, “If Netaji were alive, would he also have had to prove his citizenship?”
Today, January 23, is the birthday of Indian freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. As every year, the day is being celebrated in various parts of the country. The state government also organised an event to pay tribute to him. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was present at the Netaji commemoration stage on Kolkata’s Red Road.
“Why Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary not a national holiday?” Mamata Banerjee
In that event, Mamata Banerjee raised her voice on several issues, including the release of Netaji’s files. She said, “Today is Netaji’s birthday. The day has still not been declared a national holiday. He left the country and never returned. We know his birthday, but we cannot say when he died. Why has the mystery of Netaji’s disappearance still not been solved?”
Mamata then brought up the SIR issue. She said, “If Netaji were alive, would he also have had to prove his citizenship? Would he have been summoned for a hearing? Would he have been asked to explain whether he is an Indian citizen or not?” She then added, “Even Chandra (Netaji’s great-grandson) has been summoned.”
Expressing anger over Netaji’s great-grandson Chandra Bose being summoned for an SIR hearing, Mamata Banerjee also spoke out against the harassment of ordinary citizens. The CM said, “1 crore 38 lakh people in Bengal have been summoned. Before that, 58 lakh names were unilaterally removed. The total number is almost 2 crore. If 2 crore are removed from 7 crore people, how many are left?”
Trinamool has been alleging BJP and ECI conspiracy in SIR
Incidentally, the Trinamool Congress has repeatedly alleged that the BJP and the Election Commission have conspired to remove voters’ names under the guise of the SIR. Later, allegations of harassment of the elderly and the sick during the hearings were also raised. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written several letters to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, appealing for a solution to the problem.
During the voter verification process (SIR) in West Bengal, several people have died due to panic. Reports of multiple deaths due to panic are emerging regularly from various parts of the state. The Chief Minister launched a fierce attack on the Election Commission again today. Mamata said, “They have summoned 13.8 million people in Bengal. Before that, they unilaterally removed 5.8 million names. The total number is almost 20 million. If 20 million are removed from a population of 70 million, how many are left?” The Trinamool Congress has already accused the Election Commission of working on behalf of the BJP.
Files related to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose should be declassified: Mamata Banerjee
Today, Parakram Diwas is being observed across the country, marking the 129th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have paid their respects to the late freedom fighter through social media posts. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has once again demanded that files related to Netaji be declassified.
On her X (formerly Twitter) handle, Mamata Banerjee paid tribute to Netaji, writing, “For Bengal, for the entire country, and for the whole world, Netaji is an emotion. People have never forgotten him, and they never will.”
Raising questions about the mystery surrounding Netaji’s disappearance, the CM claimed that the state government has released files related to Netaji. She has once again requested the Government of India to release information related to Netaji.
Through this post, the Chief Minister also launched an attack against divisive politics in the country, writing, “Netaji knew that the country is not just about Hindus, nor is it just about Muslims – the country means men, women, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Punjabis, Tamils, Gujaratis, Bengalis – everyone. His Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) was a symbol of secularism and brotherhood, where Hindus and Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, rich and poor, men and women – people of all castes, religions, and communities – fought shoulder to shoulder for the country.”
West Bengal government running scheme to honour Netaji Subhash
The Chief Minister stated that the Bengal government has taken various steps to preserve Netaji’s memory. This includes everything from museums to projects. She wrote, “Our government has taken several steps to pay tribute to his memory. These include restoring and opening to the public the cell where Netaji was imprisoned in the Alipore Museum, organising exhibitions on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and translating his book ‘Taruner Swapna’ (The Dream of Youth) into various languages.
In this context, I would like to mention that in honour of Netaji, we have also launched a scheme called ‘Taruner Swapno’ under which the state government provides Rs. 10,000 to Class 11 students of government schools to purchase mobile phones/tablets for their studies.”