Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (August 11, 2026) held a protest next to a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Kolkata’s Shyambazar area over controversial remarks made against Bose by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP.
The BJP MP, Nagendra Roy, popularly known as Ananta Maharaj, courted controversy when he described Netaji as a “war criminal”, questioned his leadership and the role of the Azad Hind Fauj in India’s freedom struggle.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson was joined by TMC MP Dola Sen and MLA Kunal Ghosh. The BJP MP’s remarks were “deeply hurtful” to people of the State, Ms. Banerjee said, hailing Bose in slogans and songs.
While the Trinamool chairperson raised slogans in support of Bose, there were shouts of “chor, chor” (thief, thief) directed against her. The slogans came barely two days after Ms. Banerjee’s convoy was surrounded by protesters in Halisahar in North 24 Parganas district, with similar slogans raised against her by locals.
The incident in Kolkata triggered tension in the Shyambazar 5 Point Crossing area. “Those who themselves are tainted should not garland Netaji,” the protesters raising slogans against the Trinamool chairperson said.
The remarks by the BJP MP have evoked a strong reaction in political circles here. A written complaint was filed at the Siliguri Cyber Crime Police Station on the insult to Bose by an organisation describing itself as Netaji Bahini.
The West Bengal BJP leadership has distanced themselves from the statements, clarifying that Mr. Roy’s comments were entirely personal and not endorsed or believed by the party.
