Netaji kin claim snooping by Government

Kolkata, Jan 22 (IANS) Some family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Thursday expressed apprehension that they might be under surveillance by the central government and demanded the declassification of secret files on the nationalist leader.

Claiming that declassified documents prove that the then Jawahar Lal Nehru government had ordered snooping on Netaji's nephew Amiya Nath Bose, the family members wondered if the government considered them "terrorists".

"Documents from the home ministry detail how Amiya Nath Bose and his younger brother Sisir Bose were snooped on for more than two decades by sleuths of the state intelligence branch.

"We have reason to believe that Netaji's kin continue to be under surveillance," family spokesperson Chandra Kumar Bose told media persons here.

"Surveillance is done on those who are terrorists or severe criminals. Does the government thinks the Bose family members are terrorists?

"We also want to question the NDA government that is it too following the footsteps of their predecessors (Congress) and continues snooping on us?" he asked.

"While we don't have substantial evidence but we suspect that our phones might be tapped or mails might be intercepted," said Chandra Kumar, also the convener of the Open Platform - a forum comprising a host of Netaji's descendants and researchers seeking declassification of the secret files.

The Open Platform also launched a countrywide SMS campaign pressing for its demand of declassifying at least 100 secret files that are with the central government and 64 files with the West Bengal government.

Speaking on the occasion, former Supreme Court judge A.K. Ganguly called for bringing the secret files into the public domain.

"By spying on Amiya Nath Bose, the government had dishonoured the country and the great man who was a distinguished lawyer and a diplomat. It is therefore imperative that all documents relating to Netaji are declassified so that people know the entire truth about Netaji," said Ganguly.