Thaindian News

Kolkata, Dec 31 (IANS) The West Bengal unit of the Congress Saturday requested Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to reconsider her decision to rename “Indira Bhawan” - which briefly served as the residence of late prime minister Indira Gandhi and later of Marxist stalwart Jyoti Basu.

“The Indira Bhavan is closely associated with the memory of our beloved leader and (late) prime minister Indira Gandhi and sentiments of millions of people are involved with the name and memory of Indiraji,” state Congress chief Pradip Bhattacharya said in a letter to Banerjee.

“I request you to reconsider the decision of renaming Indira Bhavan. We will not accept such a renaming,” he said.

Banerjee had earlier announced that the Indira Bhavan in Salt Lake, Kolkata’s satellite town, would be named Nazrul Bhavan in the honour of the Bengali revolutionary poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.

Bhattacharya proposed establishing a research and information centre in name of Gandhi and said the New Secretariat Building in the city be used to house the proposed institute in honour of the poet.

Notwithstanding that the Congress is a partner in the state’s alliance government led by the Trinamool Congress, Congressmen have been up in arms against the decision to rename.

Congress leaders have described it as a “calculated move” of Banerjee to erase the memories of Indira Gandhi.

The Trinamool Congress in turn has accused the Congress of creating a “needless issue”.

“No effort has been made so far to give any honour to Nazrul Islam. When we have now taken the initiative, the Congress is trying to create a needless issue by protesting the move. It is highly unwarranted and we criticise it,” state Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim said Friday.