BJP president J P Nadda visits Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's residence at Naihati

BJP chief J P Nadda on Thursday visited the ancestral house of novelist and poet Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay at Naihati in North 24 Parganas district.

Accompanied by state BJP president Dilip Ghosh, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, and party MP Arjun Singh, Nadda went to the house, where Chattopadhyay was born and paid floral tributes to him.

Nadda said he was fortunate to visit the birthplace of the great novelist who inspired people through his works during India's quest for freedom.

'Vande Mataram', the national song of the country, was penned by Chattopadhyay.

"His work instilled self-esteem among the people of the country and also stirred the spirit of nationalism to take out India from the clutches of colonial rule," he said.

The BJP president said that the novelist's creations will inspire the saffron party to usher in 'Sonar Bangla' (golden Bengal).

He also visited the museum adjacent to the house and saw the archival documents.

Nadda also said icons like Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore, Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, Chattopadhyay and Syama Prasad Mukherjee, had all given a sense of direction to the country.

Later, he left for lunch at the residence of a jute mill worker.

The BJP chief during his one-day visit to West Bengal on Thursday launched 'Lokkho Sonar Bangla' (target to build golden Bengal) manifesto crowdsourcing campaign to seek suggestions from more than two crore people in the state ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. PTI DC MM MM