Using Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s name as a weapon to lash out at the Congress-led government at the Centre, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said that Netaji did not dream of this India.
Speaking in a programme, which was organised to commemorate the birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as “Desh Prem Divas” on Sunday, Mr Bhattacharjee said, “Netaji did not dream of this India where corruption and inflation are reigning supreme. A large section of the people are reigning in poverty. Many of them are starving. But the Centre seems to be apathetic and not taking care of them.”
The chief minister further said that Netaji had wanted the country to run on the path of socialism and uphold socialist economy after Independence for the benefit of all sections of people. “Netaji dreamt of a socialist economy in independent India with the state’s control on major sectors and welfare programmes for the poor. But the country is now under the grip of the “nasty” capitalism,” Mr Bhattacharjee said.
Taking a dig at the UPA-2 government at the Centre, the chief minister demanded action against a section of capitalists who have allegedly stashed over `100 lakh crores of black money in foreign banks and the people involved in the 2G spectrum scam. Meanwhile, speaking in a programme at Netaji Bhavan, governor M.K. Narayanan said, “It will be a humble tribute to Netaji if we can termed his birthday as Desh Prem Divas. I will write to the Centre, urging that January 23 should be observed as Desh Prem Divas across the country.” Meanwhile, Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy criticised the political leadership of the country for failing to show due respect to Netaji. “We have not paid due respect to Netaji. It is time this is corrected,” he said while speaking at the Netaji Bhavan.
Delivering a speech on the vision of Netaji, he described him as the most courageous leader of his time. “India would have also done a much better job in terms of people management as he foresaw the negative impact of a burgeoning population on a country’s economy. I was shocked to learn that there is not single a major avenue named after Netaji in Delhi,” Mr Narayana Murthy said.