The fight over the legacy of Netaji, which, is more than obvious, has been propelled by the gains to be made in the upcoming assembly polls in West Bengal, has inadvertently come to affect a part of history integral to his heritage that has largely gone unnoticed.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is celebrating the upcoming 125th birth anniversary of charismatic freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose as Parakram Diwas on Saturday, and railway minister Piyush Goyal has contributed his bit by renaming the more than 150-years-old Howrah-Kalka Mail as Netaji Express.
In a recent post on microblogging site Twitter, Goyal wrote, Netaji s parakram (valour) put India on the express route of freedom and development. I am thrilled to celebrate his birth anniversary with the introduction of Netaji Express. The tweet, however, did not mention the Kalka Mail.
Kalka Mail will be renamed to Netaji Express, Piyush Goyal announced on Friday.
New Delhi:
Going all-in to court voters ahead of the West Bengal elections later this year, the BJP s latest initiative to christen Independence movement icon Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose s birth anniversary as Parakram Diwas was followed by renaming the historic Kalka Mail train on Friday.
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal announced the decision to rename the 130-year-old train to honour Netaji who used it to escape British captivity in 1941. Saturday will mark the 124th birth anniversary of Netaji. Saluting Subhash Chandra Bose ji s unforgettable contribution in the freedom struggle, his birth anniversary will now be celebrated as Parakram Diwas. The Indian Railways has decided to run Howrah-Kalka Mail under the name of Netaji Express in his memory, the minister wrote on Twitter.