Kolkata (West Bengal): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to deliver her speech at the 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose after she was greeted with 'Jai Shri Ram' chants, here on Saturday.
"There should be some dignity of a government programme. It must not be a political event. I won't say anything else," a visibly upset Mamata Banerjee said as she abruptly ended her speech.
Pertinently, the development took place in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was attending the programme at Victoria Memorial to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
Earlier in the day, Mamata had took potshots at the Centre as she questioned why the birth anniversary of Bose be not celebrated as ''Deshnayak Diwas''.
"What is the meaning of ''Parakram''? They may dislike me politically but could have consulted with me. They could have consulted with Netaji''s great-grandsons Sugata Bose or Sumantra Bose on choosing a word," Banerjee said.
Read: PM Modi in Kolkata for Netaji's 125th birth anniversary
She also asked, "Who has given the name ''Parakram''? But we are celebrating the day as ''Deshnayak Diwas'' here because it has a history. Rabindranath Tagore had described Netaji as ''Deshnayak''. That is why we have today used the name to link the two legends of Bengal," she added.
The high-voltage developments as West Bengal is slated to go for Assembly polls later this year, with the BJP keen to throw the ruling Trinamool Congress out of power.
