Declare January 23 a national holiday: CM Mamata Banerjee

KOLKATA: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birthday should be declared a national holiday, chief minister Mamata Banerjee demanded on Saturday, adding that institutions like the Planning Commission that the iconic patriot had envisioned should be brought back to strengthen the federal structure of the country. She said that to “truly celebrate” Netaji’s philosophy of “unity in diversity”, India should have four capitals in each geographic zone and Parliament sessions should be held in each on a rotation basis.
“Netaji ekta abeg, Netaji ekta dorshon (Netaji is an emotion, Netaji is a philosophy)”, Banerjee said, adding, “Parakram ki aami jani na.(I don’t know what Parakram means),” alluding to the Centre celebrating the day as Parakram Diwas. “All we know is that Gurudev had called him Deshanayak. Netaji had reciprocated by giving respect to Jana Gana Mana. One cannot comprehend Netaji by merely reading two pages on him. One must feel him. Even today, when we say Jai Hind, we feel an excitement within,” she said at an even to mark the 125th anniversary of Bose.
The CM also announced the setting up of an Azad Hind Monument in Rajarhat — which she felt “the Centre should have done long ago” — and a second state university named after the patriot and asked the education department to make compulsory the two books authored by Netaji – Taruner Sopno and Sabujer Obhijan — and another by Swami Vivekananda — Call to Nation — for the new generation to comprehend the “true meaning of pluralism”.
“They give big speeches (baro baro boktobbo rakhe), but Netaji never said to fragment the country to pieces,” Banerjee added.
The CM, who visited Netaji Bhawan earlier in the day and led a huge rally from Shyambazar five-point crossing to Red Road, said: “After coming to power, they have done away with the Planning Commission. Who conceived this Planning Commission? Netaji. Niti Aayog could have existed alongside the Planning Commission. I remember when I used to go there for meetings with my officers, we used to lay out our demands, our priorities, how we wanted to work. Now, they do not talk to states. There is no scope to talk. There is no space for talk. Federalism is being destroyed. We demand that the Planning Commission be reinstated. This is also Netaji’s legacy,” she said. “The Centre has not declared Netaji’s birthday as a national holiday. This pains us. Today I clearly protest this and demand this be done. We also do not know what happened to him. The probe, the truth, should come out,” Banerjee added.
The CM repeatedly stressed on the need to “understand what Netaji stood for”. “He stood for solidarity and harmony …to take all together along the way. That is why the Azad Hind Fauz had people of all faiths and languages. It was a confluence. It was the pluralism he always strived for,” she said.
Remembering Bengal’s unique place in history, Banerjee said, “The sun had set on free India in the battle of Plassey in 1757. The first war of Independence was also fought in Barrackpore in 1857. Bengal was the seat for social reforms, the renaissance. They don’t tell you that. Calcutta was the capital of British India. Why can’t it be the capital again? In fact, why just Delhi? There should be a capital in the south, north, east and north-east. They should have parliament sessions in these four places. Our outlook needs to change. You cannot obliterate history. You cannot confuse history. You cannot rewrite history. We need to witness it, comprehend it, analyse it and script our own.”
Questioning the concept of “one leader-one nation or one party-one nation”, Banerjee added, “A leader has to lead everyone. Everyone should believe, respect and accept a leader.”