Prime Minister Narendra Modi will start the declassification process of some of the secret files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary on January 23.
Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the files related to the life of Bose would be made public when he met Netaji’s family members (on October 14 last year). This would be started by the Prime Minister on January 23.”
He said a “small gathering” of people, including family members of Bose and some leaders, would attend the event.
On October 14, the PM had hosted the extended family of Bose at his 7-RCR residence and had promised them to declassify Netaji files.
“The process of declassification of files relating to Netaji will begin on January 23, 2016, Subhas Babu’s birth anniversary,” Modi had tweeted after an hour-long interaction with the family members, who sought making public the documents, hoping questions about his mysterious disappearance seven decades back would be answered.
The demand for declassification of secret files with the Centre had gathered momentum, especially after the Mamata Banerjee Government in West Bengal had declassified 64 files in its possession.
It was in December last year that the Government had officially handed over the first set of 33 files related to Bose to the National Archives of India for further processing, preservation and digitisation, in preparation for the final release to the nation of all the 58 files in the PMO.