PTI, NEW DELHI: A demand to declare January 23, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, as ‘Desh Prem Diwas’ (Patriotism Day) and a national holiday, was made in the Rajya Sabha today. Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention, Ritabrata Banerjee, who was recently expelled from the CPI(M), narrated the heroic tales of Bose who had made a daring escape from house arrest by the British rulers in Calcutta and made his way to Germany via Afghanistan and then on to Japan in a German submarine.
He demanded that the government declare January 23 as ‘Patriotism Day’ and a national holiday as a fitting tribute to “the forgotten hero” of the Indian independence struggle. Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu hoped the government will take note of the suggestion but went on to add that members should not be seen asking for holidays.
