Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday claimed that efforts were made earlier to ensure Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was forgotten.

But his legacy of courage, patriotism and selfless service to the nation would be immortal and keep on inspire one generation after another, said Shah.

At the National Library in Kolkata to inaugurate the “Shauryanjali Programme” – a tribute to the Bengali revolutionaries, he urged the Indian youths to draw inspiration from the life and struggles of the freedom fighters.

“Efforts were made to ensure Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose is forgotten but failed. His legacy of courage, patriotism, sacrifice and selfless service to the nation will continue to inspire generations to come,” he told a gathering at the National Library.

Recalling how Bose has sacrificed a bright career in the Indian Civil Service (ICS), Shah said, that he left the job and plunged into the freedom movement of India just to carry out the message that the nation was his biggest priority over a comfortable life under the British yoke.

Shah said Bose”s popularity was evident when he twice became president of the Congress, once after defeating the candidate of Mahatma Gandhi.

“Netaji is still loved and respected by people like he was many, many years ago. His indomitable spirit still inspires people,” he said.

The home minister asked the youth of the country to read about the life of Bose and his struggles.

“Only a young generation that knows history can build a strong nation,” he said.

He also inaugurated the ”Biplabi Bangla” exhibition on the life of freedom fighters from Bengal like Khudiram Bose and Rash Behari Bose, and flagged off a cycle rally.

Divided into three teams named after Netaji, Khudiram Bose and Rash Behari Bose, the cyclists will collectively traverse 900 km to spread the message of the illustrious freedom fighters.

Shah was on a two-day tour of West Bengal to examine his party’s campaign for the upcoming state assembly elections. On Thursday, he kicked off the last phase of BJP’s flagship ‘Parivartan Yatra’.

The BJP’s defacto second-in-command had started his tour of the poll-bound state with a visit to the Bharat Sevashram Sangha at Rash Behari Avenue in Kolkata in the morning followed by his rally at Namkhana and a visit to the Kapil Muni Ashram at Gangasagar.

With PTI inputs