Netaji files: Modi promises Subhash Chandra Bose's grand nephew he'll take it up seriously

Berlin: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Surya Bose, the grand nephew of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, in Berlin and assured him that he will look into the surveillance issue amid a growing demand by involved parties to declassify the files.

"It was a very cordial conversation and we talked about quite a few topics. We talked about the surveillance issue and the declassification of files," Bose said in an exclusive interview to ANI.

"He said he will look into it seriously and then make a decision. He said he will try his best to open them up because he himself hasn't yet seen any of those files. So, he cannot judge what the contents are like, what they could be. So, it was a very honest answer I must say," he added.

Modi has promised to look into the matter and added that he was very hopeful in this regard. "He promised to look into it and try his best to do something about it. I am hopeful," he said.

Bose also stressed that the files may not contain much of substance, but it might be possible that something much worse than the surveillance might come out of it.

"That is a difficult thing to guess because you don't know what's in those files. There may be nothing much of substance in there, but again something much worse than the surveillance might come out of it. On the other hand, there may be some disappointing news about our great leader. So, you don't know. It's a guess work we can do," Bose said.

"We have to wait till these files are declassified and I requested him that he should declassify all the files and he at least said he will do his best," he added.

Bose pointed out that it wasn't just Netaji's family, but the entire country wanted the truth to come out.

"It's not just the family, the whole of India was Netaji's family and so it's not just the family wanting to or not wanting to.

It's the people of India (who) want to have the truth come out and so everybody has to mobilise and I think the movement has caught up with a huge momentum right now and I think we should add to it even from outside the country and push it to an extent where the government cannot say no anymore," he said.

Bose also asserted that the former Manmohan Singh-led government did not do it because they probably felt that it may bring out a lot of bad news for the Nehru dynasty.

"I didn't ask for a timeline, I said as soon as possible to open the files. He (Prime Minister Modi) can do it, he has the power to do it. The Manmohan Singh government did not do it for other reasons. They did not want to do it because they probably felt that it is going to bring out a lot of bad news for the Nehru dynasty," he added.

Earlier, two recently declassified IB files had revealed that the former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru-led government had order surveillance on Netaji's kin between 1948 and 1968. The files reveal that the IB had resumed British-era surveillance on the two Bose family homes in Calcutta at Woodburn Park and Elgin Road.

Netaji's grand nephew Chandra Kumar Bose in Kolkata hailed Modi's “positive and pragmatic approach”.

"I'm sure he has realised that there is a public demand to get to the truth because Subhash Chandra Bose, Indian National Army, and subsequently the INA trials completely destroyed the allegiance and loyalty of the British Armed Forces," said Bose.

"Narendra Modi would create history himself by disclosing the truth of what happened to one of the greatest sons, the hero of Asia, Subhash Chandra Bose," he added.