'INSULT TO BENGAL': MAMATA SEEKS MODI'S APOLOGY OVER 'BANKIM DA' REFERENCE

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly insulting legendary novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay by referring to him as “Bankim da” in Parliament, and accused the BJP of repeatedly denigrating Bengal's cultural icons and freedom fighters.

- TDG NETWORK

Addressing a public rally in Cooch Behar district, Banerjee said the author of the national song Vande Mataram was not shown the “minimum respect” he deserved by being addressed casually. "The person who wrote the national song was disrespected. You should bow your head and ask for forgiveness from the people. Yet you won't be forgiven, because you have disrespected the country’s history and freedom struggle,” she said.

The controversy erupted after Modi, during a discussion in the Lok Sabha on Monday marking 150 years of Vande Mataram, referred to Chattopadhyay as “Bankim da”.

TMC MP Saugata Roy objected to the use of the suffix “da” and urged the prime minister to say “Bankim Babu” instead.

Modi immediately accepted the sentiment, saying, “I will say Bankim Babu. Thank you, I respect your sentiments,” and asked in a lighter vein whether he could still address Roy as “dada”.