Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress has demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for incorrectly saying that Matangini Hazra, a freedom fighter from West Bengal, hailed from Assam.
West Bengal TMC general secretary Kunal Ghosh said that PM Modi has scant knowledge of history and was merely reading out a written text in a "dramatic style".
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The TMC spokesperson tweeted, "BJP4 Matangini Hazra from Assam? R u mad? U don't know history. U have no feelings. You just read a written speech (that also by others) with drama."
"This is insult to Bengal. You must beg apology. Hope Your LOP from East Midnapore will also condemn such a mistake," Kunal Ghosh added, while attaching a purported video clip of the speech.
The TMC leader has asked Suvendu Adhikari, Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, to respond to the PM's speech as the Nandigram MLA often talked about the contribution of Medinipur to the freedom struggle, from where Matangini Hazra hailed.
The TMC also attacked PM Modi in a tweet on its official handle, "Matangini Hazra is a freedom fighter from Bengal, Mr. Narendra Modi!"
"With such scant regard for our glorious history, you have insulted all of #Bengal once again. Is BJP committed to erasing our history? Mocking it as they please? SHAME," the party wrote.
Responding to the issue raised by TMC, BJP defended the Prime Minister by saying that the ruling party was unnecessarily creating a controversy over the gaffe made during the Independence Day speech. The saffron party claimed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also made many mistakes in her speeches in the past.
Reacting to the controversy, state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said, "It was a minor mistake on the prime minister's part and the TMC is deliberately highlighting it while trying to overlook other parts of his speech where he spoke about many projects initiated by the Centre", news agency PTI reported.
BJP state vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said, "It was a slip of tongue. What about the series of gaffes made by the chief minister on our freedom fighters and history? Did she ever apologise for those blunders?"
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya termed the mistake to be a serious one as he said, "It was a serious mistake by the PM showing his ignorance about Bengal's history and its contribution to the freedom struggle".
State Left Front chairman Biman Bose also attacked PM Modi over his speech and said: "Things like these happen if someone who has grown up with RSS teachings does not care to read or find out on his own and depends on the text prepared by his office without even checking."
Born in 1869, Matangini Hazra lived in Tamluk in present-day Purba Medinipur district. She was shot dead by the British Indian Police in 1942 while she was leading a procession as part of the Quit India movement popularised by Mahatma Gandhi.
Her death garnered widespread condemnation for the British, fueling the resolve against the colonialists amid the freedom struggle.
Matangini Hazra is a known figure across West Bengal and a statue of her is also placed in the Maidan area in the heart of Kolkata.
Both the TMC and the BJP had invoked her during the high-voltage campaign in Purba and Paschim Medinipur districts during the assembly elections this year.
(With Agency Inputs)