CPI-M member P Rajeeve on Wednesday created a flutter in the Rajya Sabha claiming that the Home Ministry had destroyed over 1.5 lakh crucial files on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While Rajeeve received support from several parties including TMC, JD (U) and SP, law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad dismissed the charges. “I deny it emphatically that the Prime Minister had given such instructions,” Prasad said.“There are other procedures to lodge the protest if members are not satisfied with the Government’s answer and they could follow that through rule book,” said Deputy Chairman P J Kurien.
Raising the matter during Zero Hour, Rajeeve said the destroyed files included some historical documents relating to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination and the Cabinet discussions held immediately thereafter.Citing media reports, he said the Home Ministry destroyed over 1.5 lakh crucial files on the instructions of the Prime Minister, triggering uproar and adjournment of the House. He alleged that instructions to destroy the files were given by the Prime Minister immediately after taking oath, even as the claims were dismissed by the Government.
“I would like to know why this decision was taken in a hurry,” Rajeeve said, with several members from the Opposition benches associating themselves with his concern. “You cannot scrap history by destroying secret files,” Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said.Alleging that such an attempt was intended at destroying records about the alleged involvement of some Hindu elements in Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, Rajeeve demanded a reply from the PM. He was supported by the Congress and TMC members.
While the Chair ruled that the matter should be put to rest after the minister’s statement, the members refused to relent and demanded a reply from the Prime Minister. Sukhendu Sekhar Roy of TMC demanded that action should be taken against the editors of newspapers who have carried the report if the allegations are proved wrong. Amid the uproar, the Chair adjourned the House for an hour.