January 23, 2014
I will fight for people and the unity for Bengal till my last breath: WB CM
For the first time ever, the official ceremony to celebrate the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, organised by the state government, has been held outside the state capital.
On the initiative of the Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee, the celebration of Netaji`s 117th birth anniversary was held at Darjeeling Mall.
The celebration programme began at 12.15 pm; Netaji`s birth hour was marked by the sounds of siren and conch shells. The Chief Minister of West Bengal paid floral tribute to the great son of the soil in presence of the GTA Chief Executive and the Chief Secretary of the state.
Distinguished people from the fields of art and culture were present at the ceremony.
Excerpts from the speech of WB CM on the occasion:
I welcome you all. On this auspicious day, present here are the grand-nephews of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose among the distinguished guests. We are celebrating the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Darjeeling for the first time.
Netaji was the greatest soldier of our country. His contribution to the cause of nation building and freedom struggle cannot be forgotten. He formed the Indian National army. He designed the Planning Commission. There is little known about the last days of Netaji; that makes us extremely sad.
Netaji gave the slogan Jai Hind, which later on became the slogan for the freedom movement. Why do we not remember those great men who selflessly laid down their lives for our country`s freedom? We made it our responsibility to pay tribute to all the great sons of the soil who struggled hard for our independence.
Netaji said, `Give me blood, I will give you freedom`. He said, `Amra antorer songe desh ke bhalobasina, swajatike bhaobasina, tai amra kori grihobibad. Tai amader modhey jonmey Mirzafar, Umichand. Tara aajo moreni, tader bongsho briddhi hoye choleche.`
On this auspicious day I would like to pay tribute to all the courageous jawans of our country. Icons like Subhas Chandra Bose can never die or go into oblivion. People like him are born to work for the country, to show the right path, to say something that needs to be heard. They are born to inspire the new generation.
We are proud to pay tribute to Netaji here at Darjeeling. Earlier, nobody paid any importance to the Hills. The Hills were neglected, oppressed. There was little communication with the Hills. After our new government was formed, we decided to change that. Darjeeling is a part of the state. We have the same blood flowing in our veins as that of the brothers and sisters of the Hills. Therefore, many of the state`s programmes should be held in the Hills. The programmes of the Hills should be held all over the state.
I am grateful to the Bengali film fraternity. They readily agreed to be a part of this programme. They film industry loves Darjeeling. And not just West Bengal, the entire world loves Darjeeling. We are going to boost tourism in the Hills by developing more tourist spots here. If there is a boost to tourism, business will thrive and that will create a lot of employment opportunities for the people.
We are going to renovate the house where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose spent his time when he stayed in Darjeeling. We did the same with the house where Sister Nivedita spent her last days. From Rabindranath to Chittaranjan Das, everyone has deep ties with Darjeeling.
Whenever we say `Jay Hind`, we are inspired, we remember our martyrs. We are grateful to the people of the Hills for giving us the chance to organise this programme here. We will host more such events here in the future.
Today on this auspicious occasion I want to make a commitment; as long as I live, I will fight for this country, I will work for the common people, and will keep the country and West Bengal intact. No matter which community we belong to, we will work unitedly. Let us speak with unity, let us think with unity, let us talk with unity and let us walk together and work with unity and love.
Thank you.
