India's 1st PM - Netaji Bose or Jawaharlal Nehru? Bengal govt to scrutinise

Who was India's first Prime Minister - Jawaharlal Nehru, or Subhas Chandra Bose?

This might seem like an odd question on the occasion of the country's 73rd Republic Day, but this is exactly what the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal is now investigating.

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The school syllabus committee in the state has now reportedly been tasked with scrutinising how Bose was leading India's government-in-exile during British rule.
This would then be included in the general curriculum. TMC leader Kunal Ghosh thanked education minister Bratya Basu for the move.

Chandra Bose, grandnephew of the freedom fighter and a BJP leader, said that the issue has already been addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Bose reportedly said that on an earlier occasion, PM Modi had said that Netaji was the first Prime Minister of the Azad Hind government. He reportedly said that Jawaharlal Nehru should be considered first Prime Minister of divided, independent India.

The latest instance of shining a limelight on Netaji comes after a tussle between the Bengal and Union governments. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had objected to exclusion of the state tableau which featured Bose from the Republic Day parade. The Centre had responded by saying that all tableaux can't be included in the parade and due procedure was followed to select those that made it to the final list.

Subsequently, on January 23, which is Bose's birth anniversary, Prime Minister Modi unveiled a hologram of a statue of the freedom fighter at India Gate in Delhi. The hologram would soon be replaced by a granite statue.