Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is all set to travel to Kolkata on Saturday to pay homage to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary, will 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.

Advertisement

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.

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.

Bengali singers Usha Utthup, Somlata Acharyya and Anwesha will perform at the culture event. Assamese singer Papon is also on the list that contains names of all the performers.

According to the details released by the PMO on Thursday, the programme will begin with a display of child artists performing on the song ‘Kadam Kadam Bachaye Ja’.

This will be followed by performances from the singers. The event will mark its conclusion with everyone sharing voice to sing the Azad Hind Fauj’s national anthem ‘Shubh Sukh Chain’.

According to police sources, about 2,000 security personnel will be deployed across Kolkata to maintain the required security mechanism. Sand bunker and quick response teams will also be arranged at the venues where the Prime Minister Modi will visit. Drone cameras will also be used to keep an eye on the movements in and around the particular area, sources said.

On the other hand, Mamata Banerjee paid her tributes at Netaji Bhawan and took out a massive rally in Kolkata to observe his 124th birth anniversary.

The West Bengal Chief Minister participated in the ‘padyatra’ from Shyambazar cross to Netaji’s statue in Red Road at the heart of the city with thousands of people walking behind her.