Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached West Bengal capital Kolkata on Saturday afternoon where he will be addressing Parakram Diwas celebrations to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
In order to honour and remember Netaji’s indomitable spirit and selfless service to the nation, the Government of India has decided to celebrate his birthday on 23rd January every year as ‘Parakram Diwas’.
The Prime Minister will preside over the inaugural function of the ‘Parakram Diwas’ celebrations at Victoria Memorial in Kolkata.
PM Modi will begin his tour of Kolkata with a speech in an international seminar dedicated to Netaji at the National Library. Subsequently, he will travel to the Victoria Memorial.
Prominent Bengali celebrities will take part where Modi will commemorate Netaji’s birth anniversary celebrations at the Victoria Memorial hall.
A permanent exhibition and a Projection Mapping Show on Netaji will be inaugurated on the occasion. A commemorative coin and postage stamp will also be released by the Prime Minister. A cultural programme “Amra Nuton Jouboneri Doot”, based on the theme of Netaji, will also be held.
Prime Minister Modi would pay homage to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary and visit the revolutionary’s paternal home alone.
According to a report carried by ABP Ananda, Netaji’s family members have conveyed their decision to not allow other BJP members at the Netaji Bhawan.
According to PM Modi’s schedule released by the PMO, he was supposed to visit Netaji’s residence in Kolkata’s Bhawanipur region with Bengal BJP leadership.
But Sugata Bose, the grandnephew of Netaji, has reportedly refused to entertain any kind of political milieu at the residence of the founder of Azad Hind Fauj.
Sugata, chairman of Netaji Research Bureau, informed the PMO that Prime Minister was welcome at Netaji Bhawan as many of his predecessors had visited the place.
However, he did not accept the decision of PM Modi coming with BJP leaders Kailash Vijayvargiya and Shamik Bhattacharya, among others.
He said that it was against the tradition of Netaji Bhawan where everyone was allowed to pay tribute but not as a leader of a political party.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi distributed land “patta” (land allotment permit) to 1,06,940 landless indigenous people in Sivasagar, Assam.