PM Modi all set to declassify secret files on Netaji on Saturday

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New Delhi: On the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on Saturday, the Central government will declassify some of the secret files relating to him.

The secret files on the legendary freedom fighter will be put in public domain tomorrow by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had last year announced that his government will declassify some of the secret files on Netaji on his birth anniversary.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the files related to the life of Bose would be made public when he met Netaji's family members (on October 14 last year). This would be started by the Prime Minister on January 23," Tourism and Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said.

Family members of Netaji and some leaders are expected to be present on the occasion.

On October 14 last year, Modi had promised to declassify Netaji files when he met 35 members of Bose's family at his official residence.

"The process of declassification of files relating to Netaji will begin on January 23, 2016, Subhas Babu's birth anniversary," Modi had tweeted after an hour-long interaction with the family members who sought making public the documents, hoping questions about his mysterious disappearance seven decades back would be answered.

The demand for declassification of secret files with the Centre had gathered momentum, especially after the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal declassified 64 files in its possession last year.

The great freedom fighter's daughter Anita Bose Pfaff meanwhile said that she believes her father died in the air crash in Formosa (now Taiwan) on August 18, 1945, en route to Japan.

While speaking to 'Hindustan Times', Anita expressed her displeasure over the theories floated over Netaji's death and termed them 'asinine'. She said she was annoyed with the theories which say that her father survived the plane crash and and lived as “Gumnami Baba” in the post independence era.

Anita is convinced that the great freedom fighter died in the plane crash and demanded a DNA test to be done on his remains kept at Renkoji Temple in Japan.