Kolkata: Speaking at a Durgapur rally on Wednesday, BJP national president Nitin Nabin said Rabindranath Tagore had received the Nobel Peace Prize, drawing sharp criticism from political opponents. “Kaviguru taught the entire nation a new approach to education. He was given the Nobel Peace Prize for that. I pay my homage to Rabindranath Tagore,” Nabin said.Trinamool was quick to react and demanded an “apology” from Nabin. “He should apologise to people and correct himself for saying that Rabindranath received the Nobel Peace Prize. He is completely unaware of the fact that the ‘Vishwakabi’ received the Nobel Prize for his contribution to literature. It seems that he never heard of ‘Geetanjali’,” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said. “We have been saying that BJP does not have any regard for Bengali language or culture. The party is unaware of Bengal’s contribution to India,” he added.Speaking on Nabin’s comment, state Congress president Subhankar Sarkar said, “This is not the first time that BJP has shown its ignorance about Bengal’s culture. PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Bankimda’ comment, and wrong references about Bengal’s culture in speeches of Union home minister Amit Shah, and netas like Biplab Deb, Amit Malviya or Dilip Ghosh, have shown their lack of knowledge about the state. It clearly shows that the party does not understand Bengal or its asmita.“
