Netaji's grandnephew appeals to PM Modi to bring back his 'remains' from Japan by August 18

Kolkata: Legendary freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose's grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose on Sunday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back the "mortal remains of Netaji" from Japan's Renkoji by August 18.

He also said a final statement should come from the central government on the matter so that “false narratives” about Netaji are laid to rest.

Stating that the NDA-led government took initiative to declassify files related to the freedom fighter, Bose said after the release of all the "10 inquiries - national and international", it is evident that "Netaji perished on August 18, 1945" in an air crash in Taiwan.

"It is therefore imperative that a final statement is made from the Government of India so that false narratives about the liberator of India are laid to rest," Bose wrote in a letter to Modi on Sunday.

"My humble appeal to you is to bring back the mortal remains of Netaji from Renkoji to India by August 18, 2024," he said.

In an interview to PTI Videos, Bose, who was a former vice president of the West Bengal BJP, said the declassification process has exposed secret files and documents, "which conclusively establish that Netaji died in this air crash on August 18, 1945”.

He said that Netaji wanted to return to India after Independence, but could not as he died in the air crash.

"It is highly insulting that Netaji's remains have been kept at the Renkoji temple,” Bose said.

"We have been writing to the prime minister for the last three-and-a-half years, that in order to honour the liberator of India, his remains must touch Indian soil," he said.

Bose maintained that Netaji's daughter Anita Bose Pfaff wants to perform his last rites as per the Hindu tradition.

"I think the Government of India must respond. If they feel that these remains are not of Netaji, then maintenance should not be provided to keep those at Renkoji. A statement is expected from the prime minister regarding this," he said in the interview.