Netaji's family members to meet PM on Wednesday, will seek declassification of files

New Delhi: Family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday when they are expected to seek declassification of all the files related to the leader whose mysterious disappearance 70 years ago continues to be a talking point. “The Prime Minister will meet the family members of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose tomorrow - October 14th, 2015,” a PMO statement said. He will receive Netaji’s family members at 7, Race Course Road, the official residence of the Prime Minister, Wednesday evening, the statement added. [caption id=“attachment_1658245” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Reuters.[/caption] Modi had said in his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio programme in September that he would be receiving over 50 members of Netaji’s family members at his residence in October. “Over 50 members of Subhas babu’s family, from various countries, will be coming… I am happy to welcome them,” Modi had said. Describing it as a momentous occasion for him, he had said that it would perhaps be the first time that the family members of Netaji would be together visiting the Prime Minister’s residence. “But the bigger happiness is for me as nobody in the Prime Minister’s residence would have got such a chance earlier as I will be getting in October,” he said. Recalling his meeting with some members of the family in Kolkata in May, Modi had said, “I got an opportunity to spend some time with them. That day it was decided that the extended family of Subhas babu will visit the Prime Minister’s residence… Last week, I got confirmation that over 50 members of Subhas babu are coming to visit the Prime Minister’s residence.” The family members are expected to seek declassification of Netaji files in possession of the Centre as the West Bengal government has already released 64 such files. Bose’s grand nephew Chandra Bose has said that his family will appeal to Modi to write to countries including Russia, Japan, China, America, UK, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia to declassify all Netaji files lying with them. “Netaji was in touch with people in all these countries. They all have classified files relating to him. We want to take this movement of declassification to the global level to get all the clues,” he had said. “Our main focus, however, would be on declassification of all Netaji files held by the government of India. If we do not have our own files declassified, then how can we ask other nations to do it?” Abhijit Ray, Netaji’s another grand-nephew, had said. Meanwhile, Netaji’s nephew Surya Kumar Bose and his wife Madhuri Bose dismissed theories propounded about him, like the freedom fighter is hiding or masquerading as ‘Gumnamibaba’. “Our concern is, above all, for the potential damage by short-sighted Netaji admirers to the legacy of Subhas as a nationalist, a statesman, and a warrior saint. “Could he really have retreated totally from deeply-held principles, from his stupendous activism, and from his lofty ambitions for India and her people? The short and succinct answer to this is a resounding ‘No’!” they wrote in an article. PTI