SHASTRI WANTED PROBE INTO NETAJI'S FATE: CONGRESSMAN

In the records of Khosla Commission, still held classified by the Government, there are testimonies underlining the fact that the controversy about the fate of Subhas Chandra Bose pricked the conscience of even the members of the party that turned one of the greatest Indians ever into a persona non granta. In recent times we have seen the likes of Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, Ambika Soni, Renuka Chowdhury and Abrar Ahmed expressing subdued concern, but in the good old days people were somewhat more forthcoming.

A good example was that of late Jagdish Kodesia, a former Delhi Congress chief who appeared before GD Khosla on March 1, 1971. Kodesia had spent his lifetime in the corridors of power -- an experience that made him rub shoulders with high and mighty. "All my knowledge is based on my political connection with the high-ups and high leaders of the country, and working as special representative of the All India Congress Committee from 1954 to 1969," he told the commission. Kodesia confided in that he enjoyed close personal relations with Home Minister and then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. He said he knew what Shastri knew, but added the rider that "If something was known to Shastriji and in confidence I have come to know of it, I am not supposed to reveal the secrets ...(due to) the oath which Shastriji had taken."

"I will only tell what I have known personally. I will not make hearsay reports. There are so many whispers," Kodesia stressed.

Several times during his on-oath deposition, Kodesia stated that "Shastriji was one person" who did not believe in Netaji\\'s death in the plane crash. According to Kodesia, Shastri\\'s suspicion had been aroused due to the "obvious reason that the commission (Shah Nawaz Committee) did not visit the place of the accident (Taipei) itself". "When he became Home Minister ... he wanted to know the truth whether Subhas Bose was alive or not. In the whole Cabinet he was the only man who was very much interested."

Going down the memory lane, Kodesia recapitulated many of his experiences across the world. Sample these nuggets:

* The All India Congress Committee, of which Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was the President twice, never passed a resolution condoling his death. The reasons are best known to the leaders of the Congress.

* From the records of Parliament it was seen that always a stereotyped reply was coming when questions were put about Netaji.

* The feeling among the various Congress leaders was that Panditji had an aversion for Netaji and he did not want Netaji\\'s name to be highlighted.

More noteworthy was the Congressman\\'s total recall of his 1954 meeting in Tokyo with the Indian Ambassador Mohammad Rauf, an Allahabadi like Kodesia. At lunch with Ambassador, Kodesia expressed desire to visit Renkoji temple, where Netaji Bose\\'s alleged ashes were said to have been preserved. Rauf shocked Kodesia, telling him point-blank: "Why waste your time. They are not the ashes of Netaji. Whether they were ashes or not is also not sure. But definitely, don\\'t waste your time." More shock was in store for shell-shocked Kodesia when he returned to Delhi.

"When I came back, Sir, I gave this information to Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Shastriji was slightly inclined to listen to me patiently. But Panditji simply laughed at what I said," Kodesia told GD Khosla.

And what must have sent shivers down the spines was this disclosure: Kodesia felt that "after he became the Prime Minister … (Shastri) was emphatically working that there should be a fresh probe into Netaji\\'s disappearance."

"One thing is there that Shastri definitely wanted that there should be another inquiry Commission. If he would have lived longer, he must have seen to that ...."

GD Khosla, a good friend of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, made no mention of Kodesia\\'s testimony in his fraudulent report.

Anuj Dhar is the author of Back from Dead: Inside the Subhas Bose Mystery.