Declassify Netaji Files, Demands Legal Aid Forum

HYDERABAD: May 23: The All India Legal Aid Forum on Saturday demanded declassification of all files relating to the mysterious disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Jan Sangh leader Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri. The forum is travelling across the country to garner support for declassification of the files. Speaking at a press conference here, general secretary of the forum, Joydeep Mukherjee, a Supreme Court advocate, said they would take out a ‘Chalo Dilli’ rally from Netaji’s Indian National Army war memorial at Moirang in Manipur in June.

“Netaji’s alleged plane crash death of August 18, 1945 has been busted with disclosure of several documents. Even the Shahnawaz Commission report and GD Khosla report were rejected by Parliament. Netaji’s status continues to be that of a war criminal even today. The truth behind the nation’s hero has to come out,” demanded Mukherjee.

The forum urged the government to send letters to all former Soviet countries to declassify every available document on Netaji. “There is clear cut evidence that Netaji took shelter in Russia after August 18, 1945. Still, our government is not making any official request to Russia for disclosing top secret files of KGB,” he added.

The forum members also demanded that files pertaining to the INA treasure, amounting to Rs 72 crore in 1945, must be disclosed. They also wanted declassification of a book written by historian Pratul Gupta on the history of INA and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. “It was because of the Congress and Communists that Netaji could not return to India. There was no relationship between India and Russia between 1947-53. USSR’s destalinisation started in 1954. Pandit Nehru visited the USSR in 1955 and Indo-Soviet treaty was signed in 1956,” pointed out Mukherjee.

According to him, some sources have stated that India’s relationship with 18 countries would be affected if the 41 top secret Netaji files were declassified. “We need to know the truth. The youth of today and tomorrow should learn about Netaji. He is the property of the nation and this government, being a non-Congress one, should expose all those behind the last seven decades of mystery,” he said.

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