‘Extreme weather conditions’: Culture ministry explains why Netaji hologram was switched off

The ministry of culture clarified on Friday that the hologram of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was switched off a day ago due to extreme weather conditions.

“No question of any politics, the Netaji hologram was switched off because of extreme weather conditions as per standard international practice. It was switched on at midnight yesterday,” news agency ANI quoted officials in the culture ministry as saying.

The ministry's response came a day after members of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) protested at the India Gate, where the hologram was unveiled on January 23, against it being switched off.

“@AITCofficial MPs protesting this evening outside the spot where BJP government tried and failed. DON'T BLACKOUT NETAJI. LET THERE BE LIGHT. WHY HAS NETAJI BEEN KEPT IN THE DARK?” tweeted TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien.

Also on Thursday, the Mamata Banerjee-led party took up the issue in Lok Sabha. “The hologram statue was not there. Gone with the wind. This government had showcased Netaji's statue for just one day and now the it has vanished,” the party's Saugata Roy remarked in the House.

Responding to this, Jaskaur Meena of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the machine which projects the hologram was removed as it could not withstand strong winds.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the hologram on the freedom fighter's 125th birth anniversary. The image is being used on a temporary basis; a granite statue of Bose, once built, will replace it.

The Centre announced on January 15 that starting this year, the annual Republic Day celebrations, which commence on January 24, will, instead, begin on January 23. Since last year, the day has been observed as ‘Parakram Diwas.’