Kolkata, 14 August (H.S.) : Barely 24 hours after the West Bengal government withdrew the prestigious Bangabibhushan honour conferred on BJP Rajya Sabha MP Nagendra Roy, popularly known as Ananta Maharaj, the politician has landed in further trouble. Cooch Behar district police have registered an FIR against him following a complaint lodged by a local resident. An investigation has been initiated.

The case relates to alleged derogatory remarks made by Ananta Maharaj about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He had reportedly claimed that Netaji had played no role in India's independence and had also accused him of misusing the Azad Hind Fauj.

The remarks triggered widespread controversy, following which the state government took action against the BJP MP. The Mamata Banerjee-led government had conferred the Bangabibhushan, the state's highest civilian honour, on Ananta Maharaj in February 2021. On Thursday, the state government issued a statement announcing the withdrawal of the award.

The government said that after examining and considering certain activities of Ananta Maharaj, it had concluded that his retaining the Bangabibhushan was not compatible with the dignity and prestige associated with the honour.

Later on Thursday night, Ananta Maharaj, who heads the Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party, expressed regret over his remarks. In a video message posted on social media, he said his comments about Netaji had been unintentional and apologised if they had caused emotional hurt to anyone.

“While expressing my respect for Netaji, I sincerely apologise if anyone has been emotionally hurt by any unintended remarks made by me about him,” he said in the 17-second video, which was captioned as a message of respect for Netaji.

However, the apology did not prevent further police action. Cooch Behar Superintendent of Police Manish Joshi said a resident of Ward No. 10 in Cooch Behar had lodged a complaint against Ananta Maharaj on August 7 over his remarks concerning Netaji. The FIR was registered on the basis of that complaint, he said.

The state government has also warned against derogatory posts about Netaji on social media. The Chief Minister had earlier said that such content would not be tolerated and directed the cyber cell to take action. Police have been identifying such posts across the state and have already arrested several people in connection with similar cases.

The Chief Minister had also made it clear that deleting a post would not absolve anyone from legal consequences. Asked whether similar action would be taken against Ananta Maharaj, he said that no one was above the law.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh