PM to head panel to mark Netaji's 125th birth anniv

New Delhi: An 85-member panel, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been formed to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the government said on Saturday.

The members include 10 Union ministers and seven chief ministers who will decide on the activities to be undertaken for the year-long commemoration planned by the government. Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nirmala Sitharaman are among those who are part of the committee. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her predecessor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee both have found place in the panel.

With the Bengal Assembly polls around the corner, the panel has a host of BJP leaders and central ministers from the state as members. Suvendu Adhikari, who quit as Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA and minister in December to join the BJP, has also been included in the high-level committee.

The members also include historians, authors, citizens, members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's family, experts, as well as eminent people associated with the Azad Hind Fauj (INA), the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.

The list of members also include musician A R Rahman, actors Kajol and Mithun Chakraborty, cricketer Sourav Ganguly, and Medanta chairman Ravi Kasliwal. Secretary in the Ministry of Culture Raghvendra Singh is the convenor of the panel.