Kolkata, March 14 -- Unveiling his statue at Ekdalia, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, referred to late Subrata Mukherjee as her "political guardian" while remarking that it was him who was instrumental in introducing her to student politics.
Banerjee unveiled a statue of Mukherjee as a mark of respect at Ekdalia under Ballygunge Assembly constituency. Mukherjee passed away on November 4, 2021. He was in charge of the Panchayats and Rural Development department at the time.
"I still cannot accept his death. I am clueless as to how he died even after angioplasty. I had paid a visit to the hospital where he was admitted two days before his death and he was found to be recovering. It seemed that a sudden gust of wind carried away Subrata Da," a nostalgic Banerjee said.
"We have so many fond memories with Subrata Da in administration as well as in politics. I still remember an instance when I had told him to take to the street on the day of bandh and he was arrested during the erstwhile Left Front rule," recollected Banerjee.
Reminiscing Mukherjee's close bonding with the Durga Puja of Ekdalia Evergreen Club, Banerjee said that he used to approach her well ahead of the Puja to fix the inauguration date of the Puja. "You cannot separate Subrata Da from Ekdalia Evergreen Puja. He used to spend the Puja days sitting on the stage just beside the pandal. I will urge the members of the club to commemorate his birthday and death anniversary," Banerjee said.
Banerjee asked city Mayor Firhad Hakim to check if it is possible to further improve the face of the statue so that it accurately resembles him.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.