The Trinamool Congress on June 28 demanded the Parliament precincts have a statue of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the Bengali poet and writer who penned Vande Mataram .
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Trinamool member Derek O’Brien said that at least by the next birth anniversary of Bankim Chandra, on June 26, the Parliament premises should have his statue where everyone can go to pay him tribute.
“We start every session with Jana Gana Mana and end it with Vande Mataram . Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay has been most appropriately described by Shri Aurbindo as the creator of language, literature and a nation,” Mr. O’Brien said.
Speaking to reporters later, he said his party would be writing to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, making an official request. The demand is in line with TMC's efforts at invoking Bengali nationalism to counter the BJP’s Hindutva narrative in West Bengal.
In 2010, a high-powered committee of Parliament headed by the then Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar had recommended that no more statues be installed in Parliament since almost every nook and cranny in this 92-year-old building was occupied by many high-profile figures. It was then agreed that in rare cases, permission can be given only after the proposal was vetted by the Heritage Committee of the Parliament.
