Kolkata, Dec. 20 -- : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday referred to Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay as "Bankim Babu", recalling a recent moment in Parliament when he had corrected himself after initially addressing the literary icon as "Bankim da".
Invoking Bengal's cultural and nationalist legacy while addressing a rally in Taherpur, Nadia, virtually after dense fog prevented his helicopter from landing at the venue, the Prime Minister said, "Recently, Vande Mataram was praised in Parliament. Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was born in this very Bengal.""When the country was under colonial rule, Bankim Babu gave the mantra of freedom through Vande Mataram. Today, Vande Mataram is the mantra of a developed India," he added.
The reference c...