Probe Nehru's Bose letter to Atlee: Pro-RSS journal

New Delhi: Backing claims of existence of former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru's purported letter to his British counterpart Clement Atlee in which he described Subhas Chandra Bose as a 'war criminal', pro-RSS publication 'Panchjanya' has demanded a probe into the document to reveal its "full reality".

In the cover article in its latest edition, 'Panchjanya' has questioned Congress leader Anand Sharma's statement that the letter was "forged".

"Naturally, Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma immediately trashed the said letter as forged because it does not bear the signature of Jawaharlal Nehru. But is it not possible for the message to have been sent via a telegram, a telefax or a teleprinter which don't require any signatures? This letter must be probed further," it says.

The article while referring to Nehru's purported December 27, 1945 letter says, "The use of the words 'your war criminal' for a great freedom fighter like Subhas Chandra Bose reflect the mindset and the character of Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru. These words are a grave insult for any freedom fighter."

The cover piece also calls for a transparent national policy on making important documents public and goes on to attack Congress leaders of the past for attempting to "bury the truth" of Netaji's disappearance.

Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making 100 files on Netaji's life and his disappearance public on the latter's 119th birthday, the article attacks former PMs Indira Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh for toeing "the Nehru-Gandhi line on the issue".

"These files will give us valuable insights into the sudden disappearance of Netaji and an opportunity to analyze the peculiar mindset of Congress leaders who kept attempting to bury the information on this subject," says the article, referring to a recently released 1976 note of former IB

Director TV Rajeshwar to ex-PM Indira Gandhi in which he warned her against bringing back the ashes of Netaji from Japan saying such a move could embolden the Forward Bloc.

"Depending on the IB input, Indira Gandhi decided not to bring the ashes of Netaji back from Japan. This showed how she simply reflected her father's mindset. Another file reveals

that in 1967 Japan had offered a joint probe into Netaji's disappearance which Indira Gandhi refused.

"One more file shows how former PM Manmohan Singh trashed the report of the Mukherjee commission which was the only commission to take the view of Taiwan government on board. The

Taiwan view was that no air accident ever took place. No surprise in all this because Congress leaders were simply toeing the Nehru-Gandhi line as they owed their jobs to this family," says the article.