West Bengal CM: India should talk to Russia on Netaji

Darjeeling: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded that the central government should talk to Russian leaders to ascertain “what happened to him there” and sought to know whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi broached the issue during his recent visit. Mamata Banerjee has demanded this, as the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had gone to Russia in 1945

“We have a right to know what happened to Netaji in Russia,” said Banerjee at the state government’s official programme in this hill town, celebrating the revolutionary leader’s 119th birth anniversary.

Speaking on the day Modi declassified 100 files on Netaji, whose disappearance since 1945 still continues to be a mystery, the chief minister said “We need those files, we want to see those files having information whether Subhas Bose was alive or not”.

“We want to see the files which would bring to light the details of Netaji after he left this country. We want an answer, and if the need be, the central government must talk to the Russian president.”

“The people deserve to know the truth,” Banerjee said, demanding Netaji be given the title “Leader of the Nation”.

Reiterating that the truth on Netaji should come out through documentation and proof, Banerjee said “It is our responsibility towards the youth and the future generations to share with them the truth about Netaji”.

The Mamata Banerjee government on September 18, 2015 put in public domain 64 files running into 12,744 pages in the presence of Netaji’s family members, who have been campaigning for the declassification of the files to unravel the mystery surrounding his sudden disappearance over 70 years ago.