Netaji's grand nephew says tableau row could have been avoided

Chandra Kumar Bose, Subhash Chandra Bose's grandnephew on Tuesday said that the controversy over the rejection of West Bengal's tableau in the Republic Day parade could have been avoided.

Speaking to ANI, Kumar Bose said, "The unnecessary controversy between Centre and States could have been avoided if the expert committee who is in charge of deciding about the tableau could have been conveyed this to the state government at an appropriate time."

However, he said, "Netaji was born in Cuttack in Odissa, so people of Odissa can also say that they want to contribute to the parade. If the people of West Bengal want to contribute to Netaji's tableau in Republic Day parade, then they should be given permission."

He said that he has talked to Defence Ministery officials and they had assured me that the Central government would be organising the Netaji INA float on January 26 at Rajpath.

"Today, Rajnath Singh has confirmed that the Centre will be organising a Netaji INA float on 26 Jan, but states cannot organise his tableau. I had given a proposal to PM Modi that as we are celebrating the 125th anniversary of Netaji, the 75th year of Independence and the 72nd year of our Republic day, it is imperative to have Netaji INA float so that people can understand his heroism," he said.

He further stated that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose who is the liberator of India fought the final battle of India's independence and "it is very clear that because of Netaji we got freedom in 1947".

His remarks came after Defence Minister wrote a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the Republic day controversy today.

Earlier on Sunday, Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the "rejection of proposed tableau of West Bengal for the ensuing Republic Day Parade" and requested to "include the tableau of freedom fighters from West Bengal in the parade".

In his letter, Singh said, "I would like to tell you that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's contribution to the country's independence is unforgettable for every Indian."

The minister assured that the selection process of the tableaux participating in the Republic Day Parade is very transparent and "I respect your sentiments and therefore would like to personally inform you that this time 12 out of 29 State/UT proposals have been approved".

"I would like to inform one more fact that this time in the tableau of CPWD also, a tribute has been paid to Bose on the occasion of his 125th birth anniversary. This is a testimony to the fact that the country is giving prominence to the birth anniversary of the great leader Bose," he said.

The Prime Minister has declared Netaji's birthday, 23 January, as the Parakram Diwas. From now onwards, every year the Republic Day celebrations will start from January 23, the birthday of Netaji and end on January 30, the letter read.

( With inputs from ANI )

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