Published 19:46 IST, January 25th 2021
Smriti Irani hits out at stir over President Kovind unveiling of Netaji Bose's portrait
Reacting to the misinformed outrage against president Kovind, Union Minister Smriti Irani took to Twitter and hit out at those creating a controversy over it.
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As President Ram Nath Kovind unveiled the portrait of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 125 birth anniversary on January 23, a section of social media and political parties lashed out at the president, claiming the portrait to be of actor Prosenjit Chatterjee who played Netaji in a movie and not of the real Subhas Chandra Bose. Reacting to the misinformed and misleading outrage against the president, Union Minister Smriti Irani on Monday took to Twitter and hit out at those criticising the president and making a controversy out of it.
Such is the desperation of a deflated ecosystem that they will stoop to troll the Office of the President of India and try to besmirch the legacy of Netaji - our National Icon.
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) January 25, 2021
A reputed Padma Awardee who paid homage to Netaji, a remarkable portrait unveiled by Rashtrapati ji himself on #ParakramDivas was reviled. Can we rise above such personal antics that demean the legacy of our National Heroes?!
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) January 25, 2021
Among the ones who criticised the president was West Bengal unit of Congress and TMC MP Mahua Moitra. Both ridiculed the president over the portrait but later deleting the tweets after facts came to the fore.
The portrait unveiled by the president is a coloured version of an original black and white picture of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and not of actor Prosenjit as many claimed while expressing their outrage. The grandnephew of Netaji Bose, Chandra Kumar Bose also stated that it was an original photograph of Netaji based on which renowned artist Paresh Maity drew the portrait which was unveiled at Rashtrapati Bhavan by President Kovind.
This is the original photograph of #NetajiSubhasChandraBose, based on which renowned artist Shri #PareshMaity has drawn the portrait which was unveiled at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 23 Jan 2021, by Hon’ble President of India-Shri Ram Nath Kovind ji. @rashtrapatibhvn @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/WTOHqtgs3p
— Chandra Kumar Bose (@Chandrakbose) January 25, 2021
Politics over Netaji's Legacy:
To commemorate Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 125th birth anniversary on January 23 this year, the Central Government decided to observe this day every year as Parakram Diwas. The Centre announced its move to pay tribute to the freedom fighter to inspire the youth of the nation to 'act with fortitude in the face of adversity'. Soon after the Centre's decision, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the birth anniversary of Netaji will be celebrated as 'Desh Nayak Diwas' annually. The CM mocked the Central government asking "what is Parakram". She opined that Netaji was a 'Deshbhakt' and the star of the country, hence, the state government pays tribute to him by celebrating the day as 'Desh Nayak Diwas', instead of Parakram Diwas as stated by the Centre.
Updated 19:46 IST, January 25th 2021