Cong says selective leaks an attempt to malign Nehru, other leaders

NEW DELHI: A war of words erupted between the Congress and BJP on Friday over revelations that former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and successive Congress governments snooped on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s family for 20 years.

The Congress accused the Modi government of unleashing a “systematic and sinister propaganda of selective leaks and half truths” to malign not only Nehru but other national leaders such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri and C Rajagopalachari.

“The PM and home minister Rajnath Singh must explain why only file notings of two declassified documents have been released while withholding the correspondence portion of these files. Does that portion contain some inconvenient truth the PMO has chosen to withhold?” asked Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi.

The controversy was ignited after media reports surfaced about two recently-declassified intelligence reports that said the Union government spied on several members of Bose’s family between 1948 and 1968. Singhvi said 87 files — 58 by the PMO and 29 by the home ministry — on Netaji are still classified and demanded all documents be released.

But the BJP hit back, calling the episode shocking, and demanded a probe. “If you see the Congress history, there are lots of hidden things about them. It has a murky past,” Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said. Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman said even when the government was unaware of Bose’s whereabouts, it continued snooping until 1968. The BJP was backed by Biju Janata Dal leader Bhartruhari Mahtab who said the information showed Nehru’s image as a true democrat was fragile.

SINGHVI SAID 87 FILES — 58 BY THE PMO AND 29 BY THE HOME MINISTRY — ON NETAJI WERE STILL CLASSIFIED AND ASKED FOR THEIR RELEASE