NEW DELHI,23 Jan 2026 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP and the central government of insulting the national icons like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, and BR Ambedkar. Speaking at an event on Netaji’s birth anniversary, she also accused those in power at the centre of trying to distort the country’s history.
“There is an attempt to distort India’s history. Saints and sages are being insulted, be it Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, or Babasaheb Ambedkar. There is intolerance, distasteful remarks, ungratefulness, and disrespect towards them and the language. Will Bengal accept this?” thundered Banerjee at the event in Maidan at Kolkata.
Recalling Netaji’s iconic ‘Dilli Chalo’ slogan, she accused ‘Delhi’, a metonym for the central government, of conspiring against Bengal. “It is now chokrantonagari (city of conspiracies). It is always conspiring against Bengal. We will unite against them to protect our culture and language,” the chief minister said.
Despite Netaji’s contribution to the freedom struggle, his birth anniversary has not been declared a national holiday, she said, accusing the BJP of shattering the dreams of the freedom fighters.
“From Netaji to Patel, those who dreamt of an independent India, their dreams are being shattered today. They are trying to impose their history, which has nothing to do with our country’s history. The Constitution is being humiliated. People are being deprived, and their rights are being taken away. Democracy is being stripped naked,” she added.
She also attacked the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, suggesting that they would have asked even Netaji to prove his citizenship if he were alive today.
Picture credit social media
