oppn parties Fighting Over Netaji's Legacy On His 125th Birth Anniversary

Story Of The Day

Tiranga Rally Is Excellent. Breaking The Law Was Not

October 17, 2026

People Are Talking About

People Are Talking About Junk Food Near Schools

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Fighting Over Netaji's Legacy On His 125th Birth Anniversary

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-01-23 03:43:12

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

The fight over Bengal's icon took an interesting turn today as both the Centre and the state geared up to celebrate Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's 125th birth anniversary in a grand and befitting manner. While the Centre declared the day as Parakram Diwas, the state government will celebrate it as Deshnayak Diwas. While Prime Minister Modi will visit Kolkata to attend several events on the occasion, chief minister Mamata Banerjee is going to chart her own course with a rally in north Kolkata. As the state elections near, both the BJP and the TMC are trying to appropriate Bengal's icons and the TMC spares no efforts to paint the BJP as 'outsiders' who know nothing about Bengal's heritage, culture and traditions. The BJP, on the other hand, is trying to prove this wrong by going all out to celebrate Netaji's birthday in a grand manner.

The Centre has already renamed the train Howrah-Kalka Mail as Netaji Express and there are strong rumours that the Victoria Memorial might be renamed either after Netaji or the Azad Hind Fauj but one thinks that it is highly unlikely that the government will take this step. But the state government, angry that the Centre did no accede its request to declare Netaji's birthday a national holiday and with the ensuing elections in mind, does not want the BJP or the Prime Minister to upstage Mamata Banerjee. Hence it is steering clear of the events where the Prime Minister is expected to go. One is not sure what kind of signal it will send to the common man when the Centre and the state fight over an icon and do not celebrate his birth anniversary jointly.

But as the state readies itself for elections which are expected to be hotly contested, divisive and violent, there will be more such occasions when the Centre and the state will not see eye to eye and there will be major tiffs in the coming couple of months. As the BJP continues to poach leaders from the TMC, the regional party is bristling with anger although it is showing nonchalance in public. Used to brushing aside the feeble competition from the Left of the Congress, both of whom it has systematically decimated, the TMC is now feeling the heat and does not want to share the stage with BJP leaders in the run up to the elections. Still, one feels that it is an insult to Netaji's legacy that the Centre and the state could not agree to celebrate his 125th birth anniversary together.  

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

Growth Without Jobs Is a Warning

Growth Without Jobs Is a Warning

 Delhi Curbs: Has The Government Panicked?

Delhi Curbs: Has The Government Panicked?

In Depth

Grounds Of Arrest: The Supreme Court's Rule Must Be Followed By The Police On The Ground

Grounds Of Arrest: The Supreme Court's Rule Must Be Followed By The Police On The Ground

Editor's Pick

For the Goonj to Reverberate, Rahul Gandhi Must Take Regional Parties Along

For the Goonj to Reverberate, Rahul Gandhi Must Take Regional Parties Along
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.