PM mum on demands to declassify Netaji files

Modi to meet 50 members of Bose family in October

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he would meet 50 members from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s extended family, but remained silent on the declassification of Netaji-related files in the custody of the Central government.

The information contained in the 64 files recently declassified by the West Bengal government suggests that Bose was alive after the so called plane crash in 1945. The Modi government is now under pressure to bring some of the files in its custody into public domain with the Bose family demanding it.

“I am glad to share my joy with you that over 50 members of Subhas Babu’s family are coming from various countries here in October. Perhaps it is for the first time that Netaji’s family members would have got a chance to visit the prime minister’s residence together. But the bigger happiness is for me because nobody in the Prime Minister’s residence would have got a chance to extend such a hospitality (to Netaji’s extended family) earlier as I will be getting,” Modi said.

He was addressing the nation in his 12th edition of monthly “Mann ki Baat” radio programme, which completed a year on Sunday. The prime minister said a decision to organise visit of Netaji’s extended family at the prime minister’s residence was taken earlier in May when he met some of the members of Bose’s family during his visit to Kolkata.

“I got an opportunity to spend some time with them. That day, it was decided that the extended family of Subhas babu will visit the Prime Minister's residence. Last week, I got confirmation from that over 50 members of Subhas babu are coming to visit the prime minister’s residence. I am happy to welcome them,” he said. Modi, however, did not say anything on declassification of files related to Netaji, which are with the PMO and Union Home Ministry even as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded it soon after declassifying files in possession of her government on Friday.

Amid growing clamour for declassification of files related to Netaji in April, the Centre had constituted a committee to examine the provisions of the Official Secrets Act in the light of the Right to Information Act to see how many old files could be made public.

For this episode, Modi had invited people to send their suggestions over phone. “I am glad that more than 55,000 calls were made from different parts of the country,” he said.
Referring to one of the suggestions on voters registration made by a woman over phone, the prime minister said youth must register themselves with election commission to exercise their franchise.