West Bengal celebrates 65th Independence day with due solemnity

Kolkata, Aug 15: West Bengal today joined the nation in celebrating the 65th independence day through a number of programmes with elaborate security arrangements all over the state.
Governor M K Narayanan paid homage to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and offered floral tributes at the Barrackpore Gandhi ghat.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee unfurled the national flag on the occasion in front of Writers' Buildings, the state secretariat, this morning in presence of Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh, Home Secretary GD Gautama and other senior government officials.
The chief minister also offered floral tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the feet of his statue at Red road in the heart of the city.
Incidentally, on the eve of the 64th anniversary of independence yesterday, the chief minister had observed that the regime change in West Bengal brought about under the leadership of Trinamool Congress-Congress combine marked 'freedom from autocratic and oppressive Left rule'.
Ms Banerjee had also said, ''people definetely should read about the thoughts of Marx, Engels and Lenin, but at the same time the life and teachings of great souls of India will also have to be studied.'' Ms Banerjee had maintained that during the decade-long Marxist rule, the study of this struggle, contribution and achievements of the great leaders like Gandhiji, Netaji and Tagore were neglected which have to be corrected.
A number of other commemorative programmes were also organised in different parts of the city and other places across the globe on the occasion.
--UNI