Jalpaiguri/Kolkata: BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ananta Maharaj apologised on Friday for remarks on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, prompting CM Suvendu Adhikari to say that while the MP’s actions were beyond forgiveness, considering his age, it will be “looked at positively”.Ananta was stripped of the Banga Bibhushan and he and his aides are facing multiple FIRs across Bengal. Bengal police have arrested five people.In a social media video message posted late on Thursday, Ananta said, “Paying my respects to Netaji… I am sorry if anyone was hurt by any of my remarks regarding Netaji.”The post was captioned ‘Video message in respect of Netaji’.While Ananta was initially defiant despite his remarks sparking a major controversy, according to sources, it took BJP’s senior leadership in New Delhi to reason with him. State netas also told him that the party could never accept such statements about Netaji. Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, especially, was critical of the remarks.CM Adhikari said on Friday, “What he (Ananta) has done is beyond forgiveness. He posted his statement on social media after midnight and has stated that he will be cautious in the future. However, considering his age, we are looking at it positively. But the law will take its own course.”Targeting the previous Trinamool govt for conferring the Banga Bibhushan on Ananta, Adhikari asked, “There should be a discussion on who conferred the Banga Bibhushan on him. A number of non-political persons are sent to the Rajya Sabha, but who conferred the state’s highest civilian award on him?” Ananta has been a BJP Rajya Sabha MP since 2023.Highlighting the police action in cases related to the matter, Adhikari said: “A total of 282 social media posts were taken down, and nearly 282 Facebook accounts were closed.”Ananta had recently described Netaji as a “war criminal” and asked whether he really had the military prowess to organise and raise a force like the INA. Claiming that Netaji did not build the army himself, the Cooch Behar neta had asserted the INA was a unit formed of British-Indian soldiers captured and handed over by Germany. Ananta further alleged that Netaji “misused” the INA and questioned its overall contribution to India’s freedom struggle.Ananta wields significant influence in Rajbanshi politics as the head of the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association, which has long championed regional autonomy and statehood demands for Cooch Behar. There are around 18 to 20 lakh Rajbanshi voters in Bengal. Both BJP and TMC have viewed Ananta as key to securing the community’s support.With nine FIRs lodged in the last 24 hours, many of Ananta’s followers have removed their posts from social media. Ananta’s close aides Kirankumar Das, Krishna Karjee, Pintu Roy, and a schoolteacher, Uttam Barman, are among those arrested.In West Burdwan, Congress lodged police complaints, seeking action against Ananta.Meanwhile, opposition parties have linked Ananta’s statement with Bhattacharya’s recent allegation that Forward Bloc workers once tried to harm Syama Prasad Mookerjee. “This is an attempt to defame the party by linking two unrelated matters,” Bengal BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said.
