Rahul Gandhi visits Netaji memorial in Singapore

Singapore: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday visited the iconic INA memorial in Singapore and paid homage to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who unveiled in 1945 the monument that commemorates the “Unknown Warrior” of the Indian National Army.

The 47-year-old Gandhi is on a three-day trip to Singapore and Malaysia during which he will meet Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak, besides interacting with the Indian community, and business leaders.

“Congress President Rahul Gandhi paid tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at the historic INA memorial in Singapore. #RGinSingapore #RGTributeToNetaji,” the congress party said in tweet.

“Over the next three days, I look forward to meeting the Indian community, business leaders and members of the Indian Overseas Congress in Singapore and Malaysia. Also on my schedule are meetings with the Singapore PM, Lee Hsien Loong and the Malaysian PM, Najib Razak,” Gandhi tweeted.

Gandhi began the Singapore leg of his visit on Thursday with an address to Indian entrepreneurs. He will also make a formal address at the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.

“Congress President Rahul Gandhi paid a visit to the Singapore Indian Association located at Balestier Road. Established in 1923, the foundation stone of the Association’s clubhouse was laid down by former PM Jawaharlal Nehru in 1950,” the party said in another tweet.

The Indian National Army (INA) monument constructed to commemorate the “Unknown Warrior” of the Indian National Army. The historic war memorial was built during the Japanese occupation of Singapore as the Japanese and the INA had one enemy in common – the British.

It was unveiled by Bose in Singapore in July 1945 after British forces ended the Japanese occupation of Singapore later that year. The words inscribed on the war memorial were its motto, which is Unity (Ittefaq), Faith (Etmad) and Sacrifice (Kurbani).