Kolkata: Launching a scathing attack against the Centre at a function to celebrate the 126th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the current Union government has disrespected this national hero by abolishing the Planning Commission, which was the brainchild of Netaji.
“It was Netaji who had envisaged the Planning Commission. But the current Union government has decided to wind up that commission. Is this not an insult to Netaji? That is why currently there is no proper planning behind the functioning of the Union government. Everything is unplanned,” the chief minister said while addressing the function at Red Road in central Kolkata on Monday afternoon.
Soon after coming to power in 2014, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to wind up the Planning Commission and replaced it with NITI Ayog.
Speaking on the occasion on Monday, Mamata Banerjee also slammed the Union government for taking the credit of renaming Andaman & Nicobar Islands as ‘Shahid Dweep’ and ‘Swaraj Dweep’.
“It was Netaji who envisaged the names of Shahid Dweep and Swaraj Dweep, when he visited the island way back in 1943. Now the Union government is claiming that to their credit,” the chief minister said.
In 2018, the Union government renamed Neil and Havelock islands as Shahid Dweep and Swaraj Dweep respectively and also renamed the adjacent Ross Island as Netaji Shubas Chandra Bose Dweep as a mark of respect to the national hero.
On the occasion, the chief minister also launched a scathing attack on the Union government for the latter’s decision to send a central team for field inspection on the progress of implementation of different centrally- sponsored schemes in the state.
“Even any cockroach-related problem in West Bengal prompts the Union government to send central inspection teams. In the last few days, there were so many central inspection teams in West Bengal. But how many teams had been sent to Uttar Pradesh. There should be a parity,” she said.
(IANS)
