Pointing out that the West Bengal Government was not aware of the Union Government proposal to rechristen Bardhaman Railway Station after freedom fighter Batukeshwar Dutt, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has stated that her government was not even consulted on the proposal.
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai on Saturday said Bardhaman railway station in West Bengal would be named after freedom fighter Batukeshwar Dutt.
Mr Rai along with former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan visited the residence of Dutt in Jakkanpur locality of the state capital on the occasion of the death anniversary of Dutt where they met his daughter Bharti Bagchi – the only surviving family member of the revolutionary.
Banerjee said, ” A proposal to initiate a change in the name of a station requires a clearance from her government before its implementation. The proposal has been mooted by the BJP. I have no knowledge about it. ”
” Bardhaman is the birthplace of Batukeshwar Dutt, whose struggle and revolutionary life is a source of inspiration for the present generation, ” Rai said, adding that ” The freedom fighter made sacrifices for the country without any lust for honour and prestige. ”
Born in a village of Bardhaman district in 1910, Dutt was associated with the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, headed by Chandrashekhar Azad and he accompanied Bhagat Singh to the National assembly in Delhi where they courted arrest after throwing bombs and revolutionary pamphlets while chanting the slogan “Inquilab zindabad“.
While Bhagat Singh, also an accused in the murder of a British police official, was hanged, Dutt was sentenced for life and deported to jail in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. After Independence, Dutt settled in Patna along with his wife.
Fresh feud as Mamata slams BJP over renaming Bardhman station unilaterally
