Demand to bring back Netaji’s remains ill-intentioned, says Forward Bloc

All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) general secretary G. Devarajan on Monday described the demand to bring back Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s alleged mortal remains from Japan as ill-intentioned.

The AIFB, founded by Netaji, is a prominent Left party and a key constituent of the Left Front in West Bengal.

Mr. Devarajan’s statement comes a day after Netaji’s grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to bring back the “mortal remains of Netaji“ from Japan’s Renkoji temple by August 18.

‘Malicious move’

Mr. Devarajan said the last inquiry commission on Netaji’s disappearance had emphatically proved that he did not die in the purported plane crash on August 18, 1945, and that the ashes kept at the Renkoji temple were not his.

“The All India Forward Bloc is of the opinion that the latest demand to bring back Netaji’s alleged mortal remains is malicious and part of a bigger conspiracy. The issue has been debated by the country for decades and dismissed as baseless. But it is undeniable that some centres bring up this issue from time to time due to vested interests and selfish motives,” a press statement issued by the AIFB general secretary said.

Mr. Chandra Kumar Bose, in his letter to Mr. Modi, said that after the release of several reports “it is evident that Netaji perished on 18 August 1945. It is, therefore imperative that a final statement is made by the Government of India, so that false narratives about the Liberator of India are laid to rest”.

However, the AIFB general secretary referred to the Mukherjee Commission report and said that it is a fact that the last inquiry commission on Netaji’s disappearance, headed by Justice Manoj Kumar Mukherjee (former Supreme Court Judge), emphatically proved that Netaji did not die in the alleged plane crash. Mr. Devarajan said that it was reported that there were no plane crashes either one week before or after August 18, 1945.

“The ashes kept at Renkoji Temple were also found to be unrelated to Netaji, and were identified as the remains of Ichiro Okura, a Taiwanese army man who died in August 1945. The Commission’s extensive investigation, which involved visits to Japan, Taiwan, Russia, and England, led to the conclusion that Netaji did not die in the plane crash on 18th August 1945,” the AIFB leader said.

In the statement, the AIFB leader urged the Union Government to accept the report of the Justice Mukherjee Commission and put an end to all speculation and conspiracies.