Netaji’s daughter welcomes decision to declassify files

Modi while meeting a delegation of Bose’s family members in New Delhi on Wednesday also said he would also request foreign governments to declassify files on Netaji “available with them”.

Legendary freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose’s grandson has expressed hope that the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Netaji’s family today would yield a few positive result and the truth about his disappearance would be settled once and for all.

He made the announcement as family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose met him.

He further said the government will request foreign governments to declassify the files on Netaji available with them.

“A study of the files will hopefully gives us insights into a few of the historically interesting developments of decades ago and put to rest a few of the varied speculations”, she said.

Kumar Bose also said that the earlier governments tended to “hide” these files whereas Modi had decided to make them public.

All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) today demanded Centre to form a panel headed by former Supreme Court (SC) judge and declare a time bound programme to declassify files relating to NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose.

He said that the government will start unveiling the secret files related to Bose from January 23 next year and said that there was no need to strangle history. “They shared their worthwhile ideas with me”.

A senior government official familiar with the issue said there were more than 300 files, including a few in foreign countries.

Last month, the government in West Bengal state declassified 64 files on Bose. At the meeting with Netaji’s family, the PM said, “History can not be written correctly if information on Netaji is not released”.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj have been additionally current on the assembly.

There have been demands by Netaji’s family and several others for declassification of secret files as they hope that it will help answer questions regarding his unexplained disappearance in 1945.

Modi’s office too had stated till August this year that the files can not be declassified as it will adversely affect relations with foreign countries.