West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi has demanded declaring Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birthday on January 23 as a national holiday, saying proper "justice" had not been done to the great leader post-Independence.
"I feel, I very strongly feel that justice was not done towards Netaji in the post-Independence period. He should have received much more honour, much more prestige than what was given to him, " Tripathi said after paying his first customary visit to the Netaji Bhawan here.
"Much requires to be written about Netaji, much requires to be discovered about him and much needs to be conveyed to the public about him... Netaji was a great warrior and not only a freedom fighter but the manner in which he fought for the country is really admirable and has been inspirational for the youths for all times," the Governor said.
On whether Netaji's birthday be declared a national holiday, Tripathi said, "Personally I think it should be declared... If you honour your heroes, if you pay your respect to them by observing a holiday it is good. And even today whether Netaji's birthday is a holiday or not, January 23rd is a always a great day."
Describing his visit to the Bhawan as one of the 'important' events of his life, Tripathi recalled childhood events when he wanted to meet the national hero.
"Today is one of the most important days in my life. I am proud of visiting the house of Netaji and the museum. When I was a child, probably studying in class six or seven, I had donated a few drops of blood on his (Netaji's) call that 'give me blood I'll give you freedom'. There is still a small scar on my little finger of my left hand," he said.
"Ever since that day I wanted to see Netaji personally but could not," he said.
Tripathi spent about an hour exploring the Netaji Bhawan, also the centre of the Netaji Research Bureau, his study and bedroom.
Netaji Bhawan is Bose's ancestral home, which was built in 1909 by his father Janakinath Bose.
