Nitin Nabin’s comment on Tagore sparks controversy in Durgapur

BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Tuesday triggered a major political controversy after stating that Rabindranath Tagore had won the Nobel Peace Prize while addressing a karyakarta sammelan in East Burdwan’s Durgapur.

The remark immediately drew criticism.

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On his maiden visit to West Bengal as BJP national president Nitin Nabin arrived at Andal airport on Monday evening and has since been attending a series of party meetings across the region.

Addressing party workers, Nabin claimed that Rabindranath Tagore had shown not only Bengal but the entire country a new path in the field of education.

Meanwhile, state BJP president Shamik Bhattacharya mocked Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, questioning why the people of Uttar Pradesh had voted him out of power. On Tuesday, Akhilesh Yadav had met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna and stated that “only Didi can lead the fight against the BJP across India”.

Reacting sharply, Bhattacharya said the BJP would form governments in every nook and corner of the country. He alleged that over 3,600 industries had fled West Bengal and claimed that the BJP remained the only hope for industrial revival and employment generation for the youth.

“We need a double-engine government. People of West Bengal will witness development under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government. The new BJP national president has started his campaign from the Durgapur-Asansol belt, which was once known as the Ruhr of India after Independence. Many industries have shifted their headquarters from Kolkata, while Odisha has received investment proposals worth Rs 120 lakh crore from investors, originally based in West Bengal,” he added.

Bhattacharya further said that Nitin Nabin’s visit aimed to assure people of the vast industrial belt that they would witness a “new sunrise” within a year.

Nitin Nabin, who hails from Bihar, enjoys support among the large Hindi-speaking population working and residing in the Asansol-Raniganj-Durgapur industrial belt.

Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari also took a swipe at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the Ghatal Master Plan, alleging that no land had been acquired, the DPR had not been cleared, and the tendering process had not begun. He claimed the project was merely an “election gimmick”.