Mamata questions Jaitley's tribute to Netaji

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday questioned the intent behind Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley paying tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his "death anniversary".

Jaitley on Thursday took to Twitter to pay tributes to Netaji, alleged to have died in an air crash on August 18, 1945 in Taiwan. Following an uproar from several quarters, the tweet was deleted.

While Banerjee on Thursday had immediately expressed her "shock" over Jaitley's tweet, on Saturday, she wondered if the move was deliberate.

"The Union Finance Minister paid tributes to Netaji on his "death anniversary". Are these mistakes or planned actions," said Banerjee.

"Gimmicks on social media can get you votes but what about nation-building? BJP is a hi-tech publicity oriented party," said Banerjee who on the day tore into the Narendra Modi-led Central government for destroying federalism and democracy.

Besides the Justice Mukherjee Commission, the plane crash theory has been debunked by many including a host of Netaji descendants and historians.

While a host of secret files on Netaji have been declassified both by the Banerjee government and the Modi regime, the mystery surrounding his disappearance has remained unsolved.

--IANS

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