Bengal Pays Tribute to Netaji on 118th Birth Anniversary

Kolkata, Jan 23 (IANS) West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi called the youth to draw inspiration from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to bring out the leader in them as the state paid glowing tributes to the nationalist leader on his 118th birth anniversary Friday.

"The youth today needs to draw inspiration from Netaji and follow his ideals. They need to follow the footsteps of Netaji to bring the leaders in them," Tripathi said while paying tribute to Bose at his ancestral house, Netaji Bhavan, here.

Leaders cutting across political lines garlanded Bose's statue and paid tributes.

While Left Front chairman and Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Biman Bose called for declaring the day as "Desh Prem Divas", Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said India's history will remain incomplete so long as the mystery surrounding his disappearance was unsolved.

"We have requested both the prime minister and our chief minister to declare Netaji's birthday as 'Desh Prem Divas' but they have not done so. It is essential to do that to inculcate patriotism in the youth," said Biman Bose.

Paying homage at a programme in Darjeeling, Banerjee said Netaji did not get the honour he deserved.

"The final days of Netaji are still a mystery. What happened to him, no one knows. History is incomplete. There can never be a substitute for Netaji one of the most inspirational persons in Indian history," said Banerjee.