PIB tweet on Netaji sparks controversy

Kolkata, Aug 22 (IANS) The Press Information Bureau's tweet announcing August 18 as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's death anniversary stirred a major controversy as his followers and family members looked divided over the announcement regarding the demise of the hero of India's freedom struggle.

While Netaji's grand nephew author Asis Roy, parliamentarian Sugata Bose and his mother Krishna Bose welcomed the announcement, a section of Bose family, including Bengal BJP vice president Chandra Kumar Bose protested the move by PIB, saying any such announcement should come directly from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BJP leader also claimed conducting DNA tests on the remains of Bose, believed to be kept at the Rainkoji temple in Tokyo.

Several reports say Netaji had boarded a plane from Taihoku Airport in Taiwan on August 18, 1945, which crashed leading to his death. Many, however, continue to believe that he survived the crash and lived in hiding.

Three inquiry commissions had been set up to unravel the mystery of Subhas Chandra Bose's death. Two of them - the Shah Nawaz Commission (1956) and Khosla Commission (1970) -- said Bose died in an air crash in 1945. however, the third one - the Mukherjee Commission (1999) -- had said he did not die in it.

Former Trinamool Congress MP and academic Sugata Bose welcomed the PIB tweet and said there should not be anymore controversy over the leader's death.

"There have been enough controversy over Netaji' s death. I think we all should stop this and instead focus on the life and works of Netaji. We all should take lesson from the invaluable contribution of Netaji towards our country," he said.

PIB removed the tweet last Monday amid raging controversy, a move that was welcomed by Chandra Kumar Bose and many others who believe Netaji did not die in the air crash.

"Netaji's daughter & majority members of the Bose family request Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi Ji to advise the appropriate authorities to conduct DNA test on the Renkoji remains and retrieve the critical files from Japan to solve the Netaji mystery, " Bose tweeted on Thursday.

He also urged Modi to form a Special Investigation Team and send its members to Japan to retrieve the files on Netaji and also declassify "77 Intelligence Bureau (IB) files" on the leader.

Netaji researcher Jayanta Chowdhury also criticised the PIB for "needlessly stoking a controversy" and "hurting the sentiments of huge number of admirers of the great leader".