PM says Bose would have been hugely pleased with Centre’s Atmanirbhar drive
With Bengal elections round the corner Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made a successful use of a Government programme organised to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose even as he linked India’s soaring military prowess and Atmanirbhar to Netaji’s Azaadi dreams.
Referring to “one of the greatest sons of the country” as the “first Prime Minister of undivided India”, Modi said Bose would have been hugely pleased with the current day’s self reliance drive made by his Government. “Steady eradication of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, adoption of scientific techniques and strong borders was the crux of Netaji’s concept of Azaadi (freedom),” Modi said.
The greatest freedom fighter would have been “highly pleased to see how India’s strength was flourishing from LAC to LoC and how it posses and manufactures state of the art aircraft like Rafale and Tejas,” said Modi, adding Atmanirbhar (self reliance) drive made by his Government was what Netaji wanted.
“The way we handled the biggest pandemic of the century and the way we are manufacturing and exporting vaccines to other countries too would have made Netaji proud,” he said adding how his Government was pursuing the policies that was once envisioned by Netaji. “Today we have a national education policy in place and are coming up with IITs, IIMs and other such institutions and legislations to take India from strength to strength… would not Netaji be proud of the developments that we are making today… he certainly would have,” Modi said.
“Today India is retaliating in equal measures whenever its sovereignty is being challenged on the borders,” said Modi adding how the concept of “Sonar Bangla” (golden Bengal) — a political coinage of the BJP taken out of Tagore’s works —was inspired by Netaji.
“The concept of Sonar Bangla fits with Netaji’s vision of India and Bengal and it is in this regard that the policy of self reliance should be applied both in the State and the entire country,” Modi said.
In what local analysts said a clever ploy to use Netaji ahead of the elections, Modi said “though every drop of our blood is indebted to Netaji and though we cannot pay back his debt a time has come to remember his contributions to Indian freedom struggle through various programmes”.
One such initiative the Prime Minister said was the renaming of Howrah Kalka Mail as Netaji Subhas Express.
Modi’s “finely decorated and well-packaged” statements was aimed at not only the Congress which is often regarded as the mastermind behind the disregard and abandonment Netaji suffered in the pages of history but also support the BJP’s cause in election bound Bengal, experts said.
“On the 125th birth anniversary of the leader, I bow to him on behalf of the grateful nation. Today, I also salute this virtuous land of Bengal, which made the child Subhash Netaji,” Modi said.
Addressing the Prakram Diwas celebrations in the city, Modi said, “On this day, that brave son was born in the lap of Mother Bharati, who gave a new direction to the dream of independent India.”
“On this very day, there was that consciousness in the darkness of slavery, who stood in front of the biggest power of the world and said, I will not ask you for freedom, I will take it away,” Modi said in his tribute to Bose.
Earlier in the day, Modi paid floral tributes at Netaji Bose’s statue at the National Library in the city. Modi went around seeing paintings by around 100 artists on a 40-metre long canvas on the sprawling lawns of Belvedere House at the National Library compound. He was accompanied by West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. “His bravery and ideals inspire every Indian. His contribution to India is indelible. India bows to the great Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. PM@narendramodi began his Kolkata visit and #ParakramDivas programmes by paying homage to Netaji Bose at Netaji Bhawan,” Prime Minister’s Office said in a tweet after PM Modi reached Kolkata.
The Prime Minister also visited the ancestral house of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in the afternoon as he came to the city to take part in the revolutionary’s 125th birth anniversary celebrations.
He was received at the entrance of the house by Sugato Bose and his brother Sumantro Bose, the freedom fighter’s grandnephews.
Modi was shown the ‘Wanderer’ car, which Netaji used to escape from Kolkata to Gomoh, said Sugato Bose. The prime minister was also shown the bedrooms of Netaji and his brother Sarat Chandra Bose, news agency PTI reported.
Sunday, 24 January 2021 | Saugar Sengupta | Kolkata
