Faced with criticism from various quarters, especially the Left parties, the Union home ministry has done a U-turn on the importance of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's role in the freedom struggle, saying his contribution was "immense".
NEW DELHI: Faced with criticism from various quarters, especially the Left parties, the Union home ministry has done a U-turn on the importance of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's role in the freedom struggle, saying his contribution was "immense".
This was stated by Home Minister Shivraj Patil in a letter to Forward Block general secretary Debabrata Biswas after the latter sought an explanation as to how the home ministry had said the government had no information in its records about Netaji's contribution to the freedom struggle.
"The great and seminal contribution of Netaji in the freedom movement is immense and well-known and it is not possible to reduce it into a few pages," Patil's letter said.
Constant efforts are made by various ministries and departments of the Central and state governments to spread the message and legacy of Netaji. "In short, the memory of Netaji and his contribution are an intrinsic part of Indian history and heritage," Patil said.
Patil's reply came within days of his ministry saying, in response to an application under the Right To Information Act filed by Delhi-based Dev Ashish Bhattacharya, that the government had no information in its records about Netaji Subash Chandra Bose's contribution to the freedom struggle.
Bhattacharya approached the Union home ministry with five questions to seek information on Bose's role in the freedom movement.
Bhattacharya had also sought information on whether India maintained any protocol with regard to Bose and whether he fits anywhere in that protocol.
"The information on points in your letter is not available in the records," S K Malhotra, a deputy secretary in the home ministry, said in reply to Bhattacharya's petition.
Bhattacharya had also sought to know how much the government had spent to spread Netaji's message on his birth anniversary on January 23.
"If the government has decided to forget Netaji and his importance and contributions towards our nation, then there must be some compelling reasons. What are those reasons?" Bhattacharya asked in his application.
The home ministry, when contacted, said it did not have any records to supply to Bhattacharya.
This irked several quarters of society, especially the Left parties, who demanded an apology from the Centre. Patil's letter was seen as an effort to douse the anger, as some parties like the Forword Bloc were planning to raise the issue during the forthcoming Parliament session.
The home minister acknowledged that the "concern and consternation" appeared to have arisen from reports about a reply given in response to an application seeking information under the RTI act. "I have looked into the matter and am informed that an appeal has been filed in the matter," Patil said.
While replying to Patil's letter, Biswas expressed his displeasure, saying his letter failed to explain "why and what made your concerned official (talk about) the non-availability of any such documents...and what steps have been taken by the government to implement programmes to spread the message of Netaji".
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