PTI file photo
NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi on Friday said his govt was following Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s vision of a strong India as a weak nation could not achieve its goals. He added that the country now knew how to build, manage and use power.In a video address to a programme in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Parakram Diwas, which commemorates Netaji’s birth anniversary, Modi said due to the insecurities of those who came to office after independence – a swipe at Jawaharlal Nehru and his successors from Congress – the glorious history of the islands, which were briefly under the control of Bose’s Indian National Army during the World War II, were not preserved as they wanted to credit only one family for independence.His govt has taken corrective measures, he added. Home minister Amit Shah lauded Netaji’s “unwavering determination to liberate India” through his long and fraught journey across different countries and said every youth should read about his life to strengthen their resolve to protect the nation.”Netaji declared an independent India in 1943 by hoisting the tricolour in Andaman and Nicobar Islands,” he said in a post. In his remarks, Modi said India was making its defence sector self-reliant in line with Bose’s vision. India struck its enemies in their homes during Op Sindoor, he said in reference to the military strikes on terror sites in Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack, and destroyed them, he said, emphasising his govt’s deft use of power to achieve its goals and the expansion of its defence production.”In their political self-interest, the nation’s history was neglected,” he said, noting that the islands continued to be knowns by the names of British officers before his govt made the correction. Port Blair was now ‘Shri Vijaypuram’, a name that reminded us of Netaji’s victory, he said, recalling that 21 islands of Andamans were named after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees in 2023.At a presser, BJP slammed Congress for trying to erase Bose’s contribution from history in its long tenure in office and said he played the most decisive role in the country’s independence. Nehru dismissed Bose’s party Forward Bloc as a negative group against Congress and imbued with fascism and communalism, BJP’s Sudhanshu Trivedi said, citing comments of B R Ambedkar and others to claim that Bose’s campaign had ensured that the colonial rulers were not sure about the loyalty of Indian soldiers.
