Days after it said in an RTI response that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose died in 1945 in a plane crash in Taiwan, the Home Ministry said on Friday that the reply was based on a “conclusion arrived at by the then UPA government in 2006” and it was willing to examine any new facts if they came up in future.
The government’s clarification on the founder of the Indian National Army came after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attacked the NDA government for handling the matter “casually.”
She wrote on Facebook that she was “shocked” to see the “unilateral decision of the Central government without evidence,” referring to the Right to Information reply of the Home Ministry confirming the death of Mr. Bose.
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“Netaji is a great son of the soil. Our state, the country and the whole world are proud of him,” Ms. Banerjee said.
She slammed the Central government for handling the matter “in a casual manner” and claimed to have drawn the attention of the Prime Minister.
“Any matter involving a person of his [Netaji’s] stature does not deserve to be handled in such a casual manner. I have drawn the attention of our Hon’ble Prime Minister to this matter and has sought the considered stand of the Central government in this regard,” she said.
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An official said the reply had created confusion due to a “typographical error.”
“After considering the reports of the Shahnawaz Committee, the Justice G.D. Khosla Commission and Justice Mukherjee Commission of Enquiry, the Government has come to the conclusion that Netaji has died in a plane crash in 1945,” said the reply to the RTI query filed by activist Sayak Sen.
The official said that instead of “has,” the reply should have said, “had,” which made it suggest that the government had come to a conclusion about Netaji’s death.
“There was a conclusion in 2006 that Netaji was dead. The RTI reply was based on that conclusion. However, the issue is not closed. Any new fact, if it comes up, will be examined by the government on merit and an appropriate decision will be taken,” Ashok Prasad, the Home Ministry spokesperson said.
The RTI reply on Netaji’s death was based on a May 2006 Cabinet decision, he said.
The Congress-led UPA was in power at the Centre then.
He said a supplementary reply to the RTI applicant was being sent, clarifying the government's position.