PM Narendra Modi pays tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 118th birth anniversary

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 118th birth anniversary.

PM Modi took to his official Twitter account to express his gratitude to the phenomenal freedom fighter.

His bravery, courage & patriotic zeal inspire us. On his birth anniversary, I bow to the proud son of India, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 23, 2015

Subhas Babu's organisation & leadership skills were exceptional. He was a phenomenal personality, for whom good of the Nation was paramount.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 23, 2015

There has been a huge controversy over Netaji's death in mysterious circumstances. It has been maintained that Bose died in an air crash in Taiwan in 1945. However, the Mukherjee Commission had rejected the opinion that he had died in a plane crash at Taihoku airport in Taiwan on August 18, 1945.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in a recent RTI reply accepted that there were 41 files related to Netaji, of which two had been declassified, but refused to disclose the others, arguing that the “disclosure would prejudicially affect relations with foreign countries”.

A host of Netaji's descendants, enthusiasts and historians and organisations have been campaigning for declassification of secret files claimed to be in possession of various government departments.

Recently, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy claimed that the legendary nationalist leader did not die in a plane crash in 1945 but was killed at the instance of Soviet supremo Joseph Stalin.

Last month, West Bengal Governor KN Tripathi called for declaring Netaji's birth anniversary as a national holiday.

Calling for declaring Jan 23 as a national holiday, Tripathi said: "If you honour your heroes, if you respect them by observing a holiday, it is good."