The Hindu : `I like Kolkata for its culture'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 20, 2002

Other States

Other States - West Bengal

`I like Kolkata for its culture'

By Vinay Kumar

MUMBAI SEPT. 19. Finding himself at the centre of an unseemly controversy with political parties targeting him on his observations on Kolkata, the Deputy Prime Minister, L. K. Advani, today said that he had always cherished his association with the city.

"My comments were meant only for the metro, not for the city. I had said while Kolkata Metro was sparkling, it was not the same case with the city,'' he said. Talking to The Hindu during his day-long visit to Mumbai, Mr. Advani said that a controversy was seen where there was none.

Mr. Advani's recent observation on Kolkata while flagging off Delhi Metro's trial run has made the Left parties train their guns on him. Perturbed over the anger directed against him by the Left Front and other parties over his remarks on Kolkata, Mr. Advani said his association with Kolkata dated back to 1946. "I like Kolkata for its generally very high level of culture and humane society,'' he said, regretting that his observation was being linked to that of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who had described Kolkata about 15 years ago as a "dying city.''

Mr. Advani said the first national executive of the erstwhile Jan Sangh was held in Kolkata way back in 1954 and he recalled having watched Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali'' along with several other Jan Sangh members. "Again in 1977 as the Information and Broadcasting Minister, I came to Kolkata to see Mr. Ray who was keeping unwell,'' he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

Stories in this Section

`I like Kolkata for its culture'

Bengal Govt. cuts bonus by half