Under fire from Left & Oppn, Govt ready for debate on Netaji report

Defence Minister and Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee said the government was prepared for an immediate discussion on the issue. Ahead of the assurance, however, BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi had a heated argument, with the latter questioning Atal Behari Vajpayee’s visit to the Renkoji Temple when he was Prime Minister. The Mukherjee Commission was set up by the NDA government, and had been preceded by two other commissions that tried to unravel the mystery of Netaji’s disappearance.

‘‘Netaji Subash did not belong to any political party. He is part of our National Movement pantheon. The House can debate the issue any time,’’ Dasmunsi said. ‘‘The Commission did not reach any conclusion. So, what is the Government expected to do? All the prior non-Congress prime ministers who visited Japan have paid their tributes at the Renkoji temple (where Bose’s ashes are being preserved), so how can they ridicule it now?’’

On the ‘legitimacy’ of the Renkoji ashes, he said ‘‘even Netaji’s wife and daughter accept it to be his and stand by it. There is difference of opinion and no conclusive, definitive proof has been provided in the report.’’

When it comes to law, he said, ‘‘the Government has to take conizance of all this, which does not mean showing disrespect. The Government of India has to first scrutinise the report.’’

Commenting on the CPI(M) and CPI joining hands with the Opposition on the Netaji issue, he said that the Forward Bloc (a party formed by Bose after his ouster from the Congress) — a Left Front constituent — was the real issue.

Meanwhile, though the government has managed to pass three crucial Bills on Delhi demolitions, office-of-profit and small-and-medium enterprises, Dasmunsi admitted that ‘‘no other major legislation is likely’’ to come up in the remaining days.