CPC seeks Prez intervention
SHILLONG: The Central Puja Committee (CPC) took up the dual issue of Rabindra Bhawan at Brookside Mansion, Rilbong, and Vivekananda House in Laban, when they called on President Pranab Mukherjee during his two-day visit to Shillong.
CPC working president Naba Bhattacharjee informed that the President was quite surprised when he was told that Brookside Mansion with its life-size statue of Tagore is not a Rabindra Bhawan.
“I told him that when every State capital can have a Rabindra Bhavan why there was not one here, to which the President enquired if Brookside Mansion is not a Rabindra Bhavan,” said Bhattacharjee.
The CPC also informed the President about the almost non-existent house in Laban where Swami Vivekananda had stayed in 1901 and the need of his urgent intervention to preserve these heritage structures.
The President asked the CPC delegation to furnish all relevant documents and details for further action from his end.
The President was also felicitated with a shawl by the CPC on behalf of the Bengali community in Shillong.
Bhattacharjee said that the President also enquired about the Durga Puja celebrations in the State and wanted to know whether they (CPC) had faced any problem and also on the cooperation from the State Government.
Former Rajya Sabha member, Dr BB Dutta, also had a meeting with the President for 25 minutes during which the latter enquired about the overall scenario in the Northeastern region in view of the fact that Dr Dutta had remained the general secretary of North East Congress Coordination Committee for two decades.
“He wanted to get an idea about what is happening in the region and we had a constructive discussion since I was earlier reporting to New Delhi about this region. He was interested in knowing the region’s overall scenario and we had an intimate discussion,” Dr Dutta said.