West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to speak at Netaji’s birth anniversary event after “Jai Shree Ram” slogans were raised in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence at the Victoria Memorial.

PM Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankar visited the Victoria Memorial, where a cultural program was arranged to pay tribute to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on his 125th anniversary.

However, as soon as CM Mamata Banerjee was called upon the dais, people from the crowd started chanting the ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogan.

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With Banerjee’s overt despise for the slogan as a political tool, she has a history of having chanters from all over the state arrested and detained. On Saturday, with the Prime Minister of the country – who is face of the challenge she faces in the upcoming elections– and the chanters not stopping despite several attempts of the organizers, Banerjee lost her cool.

She came up to the podium only to say, “This is a government program and should have dignity. This is not a political program….It doesn’t suit you to insult someone after inviting them. As a protest, I won’t speak anything.”

She did thank the government for arranging a show in Kolkata, but didn’t say any more than a ‘Jai Hind’.

Earlier Mamata Banerjee had also questioned the centre for choosing the term ‘Parakram’ without consulting her or Bose’s Grandchildren.

“What is the meaning of ‘Parakram’? They may dislike me politically but could have consulted with me. They could have consulted with Netaji’s great-grandsons Sugata Bose or Sumantra Bose on choosing a word,” Banerjee said.

She also asked, “Who has given the name ‘Parakram’? But we are celebrating the day as ‘Deshnayak Diwas’ here because it has a history. Rabindranath Tagore had described Netaji as ‘Deshnayak’. That is why we have today used the name to link the two legends of Bengal,” she added.

Before the commencement of the 7-km procession from Syambazar area in the northern part of the city, Banerjee blew a conch shell and a siren was sounded at 12.15 pm, the time when Bose was born on this day in 1897.

“We do not celebrate Netaji’s birthday only in the years when elections are scheduled. We are celebrating his 125th birth anniversary in a grand fashion,” she said.

Banerjee also alleged that there is a “game” going on to change the country’s national anthem – “Jana Gana Mana”.