The Left parties urged the Centre on Friday to declare January 23, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, as ‘Desh Prem Diwas’ (Patriot’s Day).
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the general secretaries of the four Left parties said Netaji is hailed by the people as a leader with unparalleled patriotism and love for India. “In these days, when the spirit of patriotism seems lacking among our countrymen owing to the frustration arising primarily out of the poor economic condition of the common man, it is necessary to give a call to the people on the historic birthday of Netaji to revive such a spirit once again.”
They said Netaji’s patriotism and secular values should help everyone work together for poverty eradication, and to take the country forward in the way patriots dreamt of, and for which they sacrificed everything.
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The leaders pointed out that the proposal was submitted to the Netaji Centenary Celebration Committee in 1996 headed by the Prime Minister.
The signatories include Prakash Karat of the CPI (M), A.B. Bardhan of the CPI, Debabrata Biswas of the AIFB and T.J. Chandrachoodan of the RSP.