Post slogans, Didi refuses to address event

Kolkata, January 23

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday declined to speak at an event to celebrate Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birth anniversary where “Jai Shri Ram” slogans were raised in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Mamata had yet to begin her speech when the slogan was raised by a section of the crowd at the Victoria Memorial event to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of the legendary freedom fighter. Furious, the CM said such “insult” was unacceptable. “This is a government programme, not a political programme. It doesn’t behove anybody to invite people and then insult them. I won’t speak. Jai Bangla, Jai Hind,” she said, wrapping up.

In his address, the PM said Netaji would have been proud to see that the country was following in his footsteps from the Line of Control (LoC) to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). He said Netaji’s 125th birth anniversary was being celebrated by the Centre as ‘Parakram Diwas’. — PTI