Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J.P. Nadda on Wednesday paid his respects to nationalist icons Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay who penned 'Vande Mataram' and nationalist leader Rash Behari Bose even as the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) accused the saffron party chief of insulting iconic personalities from the state.
Mr. Nadda visited Vande Mataram Bhavan in West Bengal's Hooghly district where Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay had penned the national song.
He was accompanied by senior BJP leaders, including state president Sukanta Majumdar, Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and party's national vice-president Dilip Ghosh to the heritage building in Chinsura town.
"I feel overwhelmed and honoured to visit this place. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay had written our national song Vande Mataram when he lived here. The immortal song became a source of energy for all of us," Mr. Nadda said.
"A visit to this place has filled me with new energy, vigour and determination to continue with our work for the country's development," he added.
Later in a tweet he said Chattopadhyay's legacy will live on forever in the hearts of the people of the country.
"It was an honour to visit the residence of the legendary Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay ji today in Chinsurah. As I walked through this historical place, I felt myself to be a part of its great history. Bankim Babu's legacy will forever live on in our hearts," he tweeted.
Later he visited the Rashbehari Bose Research Institute at Chandannagore in the district, where the legendary freedom fighter who had founded the Indian National Army and later handed it over to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was educated.
"I had the privilege to visit Rashbehari Bose Research Institute today. Rashbehari Bose was a revolutionary whose name will always remain etched in the history of our country and of Bengal. I hope his values of nationalism get imbibed in every karyakarta of the @BJP4India," Mr. Nadda tweeted.
The ruling TMC shared on the micro blogging platform a video of Rashbehari Bose's portrait below BJP posters with 'Welcome Dr J.P. Nadda' written on them and termed it as an insult to the icons of Bengal.
"Outrageous! Yet again @BJP4India shows their disrespect towards #Bengal and our legends. Does @BJP4Bengal really consider @JPNadda to be a taller figure than Rashbehari Bose? Shocking how no BJP leader attending the event raised a voice against such an appalling gesture!" the party tweeted.
Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh accused Nadda and BJP of "insulting the legends of Bengal".
Reacting to the allegations, senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha said TMC is trying to create an issue and the allegations are a reflection of the panic that has set in the ruling camp.
"The allegations are baseless. Neither BJP nor Nadda Ji ever meant any disrespect to the icons or legends of Bengal. It seems Nadda Ji's visit has led to a panic in the ruling camp," he said.
TMC had in the past too blamed BJP for disrespecting icons such as Netaji, Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda.
