The Indira Bhavan renaming controversy continued to rage as state Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya on Saturday wrote to chief minister Mamata Banerjee requesting her to not change its name and to not set up a Nazrul Academy in the building which has been closely associated with the memory of former Prime Minister and great Congress leader Indira Gandhi.
The Congress has urged Ms Banerjee to set up an Indira Gandhi Research and Information Centre at Indira Bhavan. “The Indira Bhavan is closely associated with the memory of our beloved leader and (the late) Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and sentiments of millions of people are involved with the name and memory of Indiraji,” Mr Bhattacharya said in his letter. On Saturday morning, an emergency meeting was held at the Bidhan Bhavan which was attended by top state Congress leaders Mr Bhattacharya, Manas Bhunia, Abdul Mannan and others. The AICC general secretary and in-charge of Bengal Shakil Ahmed was also present. His presence made it clear that the party’s central leadership also had serious reservations about Ms Banerjee’s decision. Ms Banerjee had on Wednesday announced that she would rechristen Indira Bhavan as Nazrul Bhavan and set up a museum and a research academy to honour the great poet Kazi Narzul Islam. Her decision sparked strong protests by the Congress. Rattled by the intensity of the protests, Ms Banerjee on Friday decided to drop the idea of renaming the bungalow. Lashing out against the Congress for making it a political issue, the state urban development minister Firhad Hakim on Friday announced that Indira Bhavan’s nameplate would not be changed. He, however, made it clear that the state government was determined to set up the Nazrul academy and museum there. The move did not placate the Congress. In his letter, Mr Bhattacharya clearly told the chief minister that “ there is no logic or justification” in her move. The Congress has advised Ms Banerjee to set up a cultural complex called Nazrul Sadan in the city and Nazrul Academies in every district. Mr Bhattacharya has suggested that the proposed Nazrul Acacemy should be set up at Charulia (the poet’s birth place) in Burdwan district.
Another suggestion is that the New Secretariat building should be renamed as Nazrul Bhavan. Mr Bhattacharya said that the chief minister would have to either issue a press statement announcing that she had dropped her plans to set up a Nazrul Bhavan at Indira Bhavan or a government spokesperson would have to make the announcement. “If she does not withdraw her decision then the Congress agitation across the state will continue,” he warned.