New Delhi: With the mystery surrounding the
death of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in a 1945 plane crash
still unresolved, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has corrected a
recent book, saying that "no irrefutable proof" existed of his
demise in the accident.
"The date of death in an air crash as announced by Tokyo
Radio, although there is no irrefutable proof of his death in
the alleged air crash."
This is the footnote which is being added to the date of
death of Netaji mentioned as August 18, 1945 in the
Secretariat's recent publication titled 'Honouring National
Leaders: Statues and Portraits in Parliament Complex'.
The correction came after senior Forward Bloc MP Barun
Mukherjee wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar saying, "I am
sorry to note that under the picture of the statue, as well as
the portrait of Netaji, his life span is given as '23-01-1897
to 18-08-1945', which is only partially correct.
"His date of birth is given correctly, but the date of
his death is still not established."
In his letter, Mukherjee said the Justice Manoj Kumar
Mukherjee enquiry commission to probe Netaji's "mysterious
disappearance" had "categorically established that there was
no plane crash at Taihoku (Taiwan) on August 18, 1945".
Seeking that a correction be carried out in the book,
the Forward Bloc leader said that the Commission had also
stated in its report that "the so-called 'bones and ashes'
kept at Renkoji Temple in Japan are not of Netaji. Hence
Netaji's alleged death story is still controversial".
In its reply, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said, "The date
of death of Netaji as stated in the publication should not
have been mentioned without a suitable clarification" and told
Mukherjee that a footnote was being added.
"The omission as above is inadvertent and unintentional
and is deeply regretted," it said.
PTI
First Published: Friday, December 02, 2011, 16:51