Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday approved the setting up of a committee, led by former Defence Minister AK Antony, to plan and coordinate the party’s activities to commemorate the historic 50th anniversary of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
“Congress President Sonia Gandhi has approved the formation of the committee… to commemorate the war that India won in 1971, which holds testimony to the special relationship between our two countries,” party General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal said in a communique.
The committee will be headed by AK Antony and Praveen Davar has been appointed as convener.
The panel includes Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan, and former Union Minister Jitendra Singh. Former President Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee, a party spokesperson, has also been named a member of the panel.
Other members include former Haryana Minister Kiran Choudhry, Telangana Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy, and Major Ved Prakash. Praveen Davar has been made the panel’s Convener.
Honoured to be appointed to the committee of @INCIndia to plan & coordinate the activities of the party to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic Bangladesh Liberation war of 1971. I sincerely thank madam Sonia Gandhi Ji for giving me this responsibility. pic.twitter.com/CXA2POIHlP
— Uttam Kumar Reddy (@UttamTPCC) December 29, 2020
The Bangladesh Liberation War, which was won in 1971, “holds testimony to the special relationship between our two countries,” the statement mentioned.
The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War was fought during the rule of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
In one of the fastest and shortest campaigns of military history, a new nation was born as a result of the swift campaign undertaken by the Indian Army.
After facing defeat in the 1971 war, the then Army Chief of Pakistan General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, along with his 93,000 troops, surrendered to allied forces, which also comprised Indian Army personnel.
Source: Free Press Journal
