The
Hindu: New Delhi: Monday, 01 December 2014.
Toeing the
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) line, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)
government has refused to make the files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose public,
saying the revelations would “prejudicially affect” relations with foreign
countries.
The Prime
Minister’s Office has shared only a list of 41 such files.
In the run-up
to the general elections, the then BJP president and present Union Home
Minister Rajnath Singh in January asked the UPA government to reveal the
mystery behind Netaji’s death. “The entire country is impatient to know how
Netaji died and under what circumstances,” he said at a book release function.
Request
declined;
However, in
its response to an RTI application by activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal filed
about 14 months ago, the PMO has declined to share copies of the files.
The PMO has
shared a list of files created from 1953 to 2000, the last two “Top Secret”
files being on Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry report. The other two
top secret papers are on correspondences with and about Netaji’s widow and
daughter (last amended in 1971) and the transfer of his ashes to India (created
in 1998).
In all, 21
files pertain to Netaji’s disappearance or circumstances of his death and the
appointment of inquiry committees. Ten others are marked “Unclassified” but,
the government has refused to reveal contents of even those files.
The list
includes two files on the Indian National Army’s treasure, created in 1956-57
and 1988.
Among the
files marked “Secret” is a 1991 document titled “Bharat Ratna Award – Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad, Subhas Chandra Bose, JRD Tata, Morarji Desai.”
The
government has also kept secret information on acquisition of Jankinath Bhavan
at Cuttack, the birth place of Netaji, by the Orissa government, and two
references from Professor Samar Guha, MP, in 1990-91 on his disappearance.
The
classified files include a 2006 file on Netaji’s mortal remains kept in Rankoji
temple in Japan on behalf of the Indian government.
“The Central
Public Information Officer did not specify the name of the country with which
relations would be prejudicially affected,” said Mr. Agrawal, adding that in
case it is the United Kingdom, then a much larger public interest is involved
in making the revelations.
“Here in this
case, public interest definitely overweighs the harm protected, where even
several commissions/committees have been formed by the Union government to
probe the mystery,” said Mr. Agrawal in his letter to the PMO’s Appellate
Authority under the RTI Act seeking the disclosure of all Netaji files.
The BJP-led
government had earlier declined to make public the Henderson Brooks-Bhagat
report on the 1962 war with China.
.JPG)
.JPG)
