Congress exposed over its destruction of files
That official files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were destroyed by Congress regimes, had been suspected by many. Now, there is some hard proof to back up that theory. The second tranche of documents on Netaji Bose that have been declassified by the Modi Government makes it amply clear that some files were either destroyed or are no longer traceable. And if that wasn't enough, no official note authorising the destruction has been found, further underlining the fact that details about Netaji's whereabouts were deliberately hidden from the public possibly for good. While the contents of those files 10 from the Prime Minister's Office, 10 from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and 30 with the Ministry of External Affairs, pertain to the period between 1956 and 2009 are anybody's guess, clearly the documents contained information that the Government of that time, led by the Congress, did not want the public to see. This only adds fuel to the many conspiracy theories surrounding the role of the then Congress leadership in Netaji's mysterious death: Was the plane crash in Japan a smokescreen to escape to Russia, as many have wonderedIJ Did the Government or the bureaucracy also have the same suspicions or did the latter know about it for sureIJ Is it possible that some Government leaders were involved in foul playIJ Were foreign powers also part of this operationIJ Whatever the truth, which the public may or may not ever learn, the destruction of official files, that too of such a sensitive nature, and at a time when the matter was still under investigation, does not reflect well on the Congress. At the very least, it points to a cover-up and mischief. As expected, the Congress's rivals, particularly in Netaji's home State of West Bengal where the iconic freedom-fighter has a strong fan following and is something of a cult figure — are preparing to make the most of this situation. Poll-bound Trinamool Congress, which is seeking to secure its second term in power, has already asked for a probe, while the BJP has won praise and brownie points for the declassification initiative.
Indeed, while the incumbent regime in New Delhi is doing its bit to bring some transparency into the issue by opening up secret files for public scrutiny, (something that had been a longstanding demand of scholars and the common public in general), the Congress, which ruled this country for much of the post-independence years, still remains answerable to the people. Netaji was one of India's leading freedom-fighters, and his contribution to the independence struggle is unmatched. Seven decades since he disappeared from public view, he is still a revered national icon, and especially in Bengal. It is only in the fitness of things that the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, about his life and death be put out in the public domain. Indeed, a few of the freshly declassified files have added to the suspicion that Netaji had not died in the 1945 plane crash, since some recordings of his new speeches were available even after the crash date. Until the puzzle is resolved, doubts, suspicions and conspiracy theories, which have been in the air since the plane that was ostensibly carrying Netaji supposedly crashed, will continue to circulate.