Was Netaji alive after 1945? Questions raised once again...

Tanmoy Chakraborty, EOI, Kolkata 18 Sep 2015: Fuelling widespread belief among Indians that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was alive even after 1945 when the alleged plane crash at Taihoku took place, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who released 64 files regarding Netaji today, said that one of the files that she went through corroborated the same.

According to standard history books Netaji died at the plane crash.

The chief minister today put the files in public domain amidst the presence of the freedom fighter’s family members at the Police museum at Maniktola, Kolkata. The general public will be able to take a look at the invaluable dossiers at the Museum from Monday.

``We have made the 64 files public with a view to bringing out the truth about what happened to Netaji ultimately. How did he disappear? We want truth to be revealed. Let the Centre bring out all such files. People of the country have the rights to know the truth. I did not have any prior knowledge of these files but once I was apprised of it I decided to make it public for the people of the country. These are most invaluable documents relating to the details about Netaji, One should read them thoroughly.”

Seeking to increase the pressure on the Centre which had so far been reluctant to declassify the files it had with them, Mamata said, “We have made a beginning.. Let the Centre come up with the disclosure of the files. People of the country have the right to know the truth. et the better sense prevails. You cannot suppress the truth. It will come out today or tomorrow." Asked to comment on whether the declassified files will affect India's relations with some countries as being argued by the Centre, chief minister said "Now we have got independence. We should honour the great men who have given us independence. We should salute them. If there is any bilateral relations between the countries that may come in the way of declassifying files, that should be reviewed”. Continuing her tirade against the Centre, Mamata said, “ After 70 years of Independence, we did not give the great man his desired respect. We could not solve the mystery. It is unfortunate.”Mamata said.

Earlier in the day, Mamata said in a tweet. "Today is a historic day. Our government has made all Netaji files public. People have a right to know about the brave son of India."

Earlier, Chandra Bose, grand nephew of Netaji hit out at the Congress regime in 1972 led by former chief minister Siddhartha Sahnkar Ray for destroying some of the files.

Krishna Bose, another kin of Netaji, while hailing the state government’s move to declassify files, said, “ It is a bold step for the state government to declassify the files and the Centre should also take steps on this score to dispel the mystery regarding the disappearance of the freedom fighter.” Meanwhile, All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) today hailed state government's move and urged the Centre to follow suit.. ``We hope these papers will throw more light on the plan and procedure of Netaji by utilising the situation of World War II in favour of liberation of our motherland, It will also reveal conspiracy of the then Congress party to keep Netaji away from Independent India," AIFB general secretary Debabrata Biswas said in a statement