West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday lashed out at the BJP for doing away with the Planning Commission, which, according to her, was a brainchild of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
The TMC supremo made the comments on the occasion of Bose’s 124th birth anniversary that’s being observed on Saturday. Addressing a programme at Netaji Bhavan, the revolutionary’s ancestral home, Mamata described Bose as an icon who had advocated unity among all communities in the country. She also demanded that Netaji's birthday on January 23 be declared as a national holiday.
"Why was the national Planning Commission, which was conceptualised by Netaji in independent India, was dissolved? Why the demand for a holiday on Netaji's birthday by our government has not yet met?" Mamata questioned during her brief speech.
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The Narendra Modi government disbanded the Planning Commission in 2014 and had formed the Niti Aayog.
In a thinly-veiled attack at the BJP, the Bengal CM also said, "We don't remember Netaji just before the elections. He is in our hearts for 365 days. We are in touch with his family."
The West Bengal chief minister also claimed that the Centre did not consult with her regarding declaring Netaji's birthday as 'Parakram Diwas’.
She also said Netaji was described as 'Deshnayak' by Rabindranath Tagore and hence the TMC government was celebrating his birthday day as Deshnayak Diwas.
(With PTI inputs)
