New Delhi: A top Pakistani government official had assured India of helping in research work related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s secret journey to Europe during World War II, a report said on Wednesday.

According to a report published in Hindustan Times, Pakistan’s then information secretary Altaf Gauhar had agreed to help New Delhi, but on a condition that everything would be confidential.

Netaji Research Bureau in West Bengal had asked former prime minister Indira Gandhi for help to collect information related to the great freedom fighter's trip in 1941 through Peshawar, Kabul, Tashkent, Moscow and Berlin.

Subsequently, the then Indian high commissioner S Sen had an informal word with Gauhar, who agreed to help in the research work.

However, it's not clear whether the offer materialise.

Gauhar was very close to ex-Pakistan president Ayub Khan. While giving his nod, the Pakistani official had categorically said that nothing should be made public as Netaji's history has many political implications which are not liked by several political personalities.

Days ahead of Assembly elections in West Bengal, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma on Tuesday released the second tranche of 50 declassified files related to Subhas Chandra Bose even as he asserted that the move is not "linked with politics".

As many as hundred secret files, ranging from those from the British Raj to as late as 2007, were made public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Netaji's 119th birth anniversary on January 23.

New Delhi: Months after Narendra Modi government's decision to declassify hundreds of secret files related to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose , Japan will also release two of the five secret files with them. 

Speaking in the Parliament on Tuesday,  Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that Japan has 5 files related to Netaji and will release two files by the end of the year. 

As many as hundred secret files were made public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Netaji's 119th birth anniversary on January 23 this year.

The files, released in January, comprised over 16,600 pages of historic documents, ranging from those from the British Raj to as late as 2007.

In October last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met the family members of Netaji and announced that the government would declassify the files relating to the leader whose disappearance 70 years ago remains a mystery.

While two commissions of inquiry had concluded that Netaji had died in a plane crash in Taipei on August 18, 1945, a third probe panel, headed by Justice MK Mukherjee, had contested it and suggested that Bose was alive.

Delhi: Narendra Modi government is all set to release third set of files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at 12:30 PM on Friday, as per ANI.

"Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma will release the next set of 25 files pertaining to Bose tomorrow," an official said, as per PTI.

Last month, the minister had released 50 declassified files relating to the leader on web portal www.Netajipapers.Gov.In.

Similarly, as many as hundred secret files were made public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Netaji's 119th birth anniversary on January 23

Earlier, on April 26, government had said that two crucial files relating to Netaji would be declassified by Japan this year-end, but the country had given no assurance regarding three more such files in its custody.

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had told the Lok Sabha that the five files, which are with Japan, could be 'crucial' to resolve the mystery over the fate of Bose.

"Japan has conveyed to us that they will declassify two of the five files by the end of this year but no commitment has been given to the rest of the three files. But we are hopeful that they will declassify the remaining three files too," he had said during Question Hour, as per PTI.

Rijiju had said that two files relating to Netaji which were with the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Home Affairs continued to be missing and efforts were on to trace them.

The Minister had said that around 150 Netaji files had been declassified and were available online, while 25 more files each were being uploaded online every month.

In October last year, PM Modi had met the family members of Netaji and had announced that the government would declassify the files relating to the leader whose disappearance 70 years ago remains a mystery.

While two commissions of inquiry had concluded that Netaji had died in a plane crash in Taipei on August 18, 1945, a third probe panel, headed by Justice MK Mukherjee, had contested it and suggested that no such aircrash had taken place.

(With Agency inputs)       

Etawah: Samajwadi Party supremo and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday said that India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru died due to 'shock' he suffered after 1962 India-China war, and not due to any disease.

"Pandit Nehru did not have any disease. In 1962, China attacked us. Our army had no arms and ammunitions, even then they fought valiantly. Pandit Nehru did not live long after the 1962 debacle. It was not any ailment, but he died due to shock he suffered that China had attacked India," ANI quoted Mulayam as saying.

Mulayam came as a guest at the inauguration of Central medicine supply depot building in UP Rural Institute of Post Graduate Medical Sciences.

Pandit Nehru died on May 27, 1964. According to government records, his health began declining steadily after 1962, and he spent months recuperating in Kashmir through 1963.

Some historians attribute this dramatic decline to his surprise and chagrin over the Sino-India War, which he perceived as a betrayal of trust.

(With ANI inputs)

London: Japan had confirmed to the US within weeks about the death of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in a plane crash in Taiwan in 1945, a UK website set up to document evidence on the circumstances of the freedom fighter's demise claimed on Thursday.

Bosefiles.Info says Japan's communication to the US in 1945 was an interim report and a prelude to the final report handed over to the Indian government in 1956.

The information had been sought by Lord Louis Mountbatten as commander of Allied Forces in India (then under British rule) and South East Asia.

The Commander of the Allied Land Forces in the South West Pacific, US General Douglas MacArthur, through the Yokohama Division of the Japanese Army sought information from Japan on 'Reported Death of CHANDRA BOSE" on behalf of Mountbatten on August 30, 1945 - 12 days after Netaji is believed to have been killed on August 18.

The latest disclosure is attributed to 91-year-old US-based Govind Talwalkar, the former chief editor of 'Maharashtra Times' who had received the documents from the National Diet (Parliament) Library of Japan on December 23, 2015.

In the "ad interim" report now published on the website, the Japanese government said Bose died "in an airplane accident" in Taihoku (Japanese name for Taipei).

The report says the 97-2 Model Japanese bomber carrying Bose reached the Taihoku Airfield (from Tourane, now known as Da Nang) at 13:00 o'clock.

It states: "After refuelling it took off at 14:00 o'clock. When it rose about 10 metres above the ground the propeller of the left side engine fell apart.

The plane, shaking violently right and left, listed to the left and crashed against the mound at the end of the airfield. Fire broke out instantly at both the front and the rear of the plane.

"Bose, drenched in gasoline and covered with flame, emerged from a hole on the left side and toward the front of the fuselage.

"His aide HR (Habib-ur-Rahman) also crawled out of the machine, and endeavoured to extinguish the fire on Bose, who however had been severely burned, beside being injured at several places, including two or three cuts in the neck. Ten minutes after the accident, he was taken to the Army Hospital in Taihoku, and received treatment at 15:00 o'clock. His death came at 21:00 o'clock."

In reference to the "disposition of the remains of Bose", the report said, they were "placed in a coffin" on August 20, the "cremation" took place on "22 August" and the "funeral at the Nishi Honganji Temple, Taihoku" on "August 23".

"The records provided by the Japanese National Diet corroborate the mass of evidence published Bosefiles.Info to establish beyond all doubt Bose's tragic death at Taipei on 18 August 1945," the website said in a statement. 

London: The only child of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose wants to bring her late father's ashes back to India, according to one of Japan's leading newspapers.

Anita Bose Pfaff, a professor of economics based in Germany, told 'Yomiuri Shimbun' daily this week that she hopes the debate around the circumstances of the freedom fighter's death can finally be laid to rest.

"I want to bring back his ashes to India, which is now an independent nation. Indian independence was his (her father's) ardent wish," the 73-year-old is quoted as saying.

According to Bosefiles.Info, a UK-based website set up to catalogue the circumstances around Netaji's disappearances, claims the 'Yomiuri Shimbun' story was published in the context of a 1956 Japanese government investigation report on the death to be made public on Friday.

The same Japanese government investigation report was published by Bosefiles.Info on September 1.

"The document, which has been treated as classified by the Japanese government, will be available for browsing at the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan," the paper reports.

The document concludes Bose died as a result of a plane crash at Taipei on August 18, 1945.

Professor Pfaff was quoted by the paper as saying: "I hope that the new document can end the debate."

'Yomiuri Shimbun' writes: "According to the document (the Japanese government investigation report), which is based on testimonies by witnesses and army physicians who were at his bedside when Bose died, the airplane which Bose was on board crashed at 13:50 on 18 August, 1945, immediately after taking off from Taiwan, where the plane landed for fuelling.

"Bose, who suffered burn injury all over his body, requested 'to treat others before himself' at the army hospital he was admitted to. Despite his request, physicians treated Bose first. However, Bose died at 19:00."

It further reports: "The document also shows the process as to how his ashes and belongings were transported to Japan."

Bose's ashes have reportedly since been preserved at the Japanese capital's Renkoji temple for 71 years.

The paper reports the chief priest at this place of worship, Kyozen Mochizuki, "also hopes that the release of the document will lead to (the) return of the ashes to India".

Faizabad: An interesting piece of information regarding whether Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose resurfaced in the guise of `Gumnami Baba` post the alleged disappearance in the 1945 plane crash has come to the fore.

On Tuesday, the Sahai Commission was informed that President Pranab Mukherjee had met Gumnami Baba in Faizabad in the 1980s during his stint as a Union minister in the Congress government.

The 57-year-old Ravindra Shukla, who was in touch with Gumnami Baba, admitted before the commission that Mukherjee visited the monk once, during Navratri in October, reported The Times of India.

Notably, Shukla is one of the 13 people who witnessed Gumnami Baba's funeral at Guptaar Ghat.

Talking to the daily, Shukla said: "It was around 1981-82 when I was instructed by Bhagwanji (Baba) to accompany a Bengali gentleman to the local market. The Bengali gentleman was staying at Ayodhya's Birla Dharamshala. I ferried the gentleman on my Yezdi motorcycle to Chowk area of Faizabad, where he purchased clothes and some dry fruits."

"After this, I dropped the gentleman at Birla Dharamshala. Since I stayed with the Bengali gentleman for a long time, I could recall his face. Later, when he became a Union minister and subsequently the President, I could easily recall and recollect that the person whom I took to the market was Pranab Mukherjee," Shukla wrote in his submission to the commission.

"I had never seen Bhagwanji (Baba) till the time he was alive (sic) but had the opportunity of getting blessed by him, physically touching his feet and even repairing his room cooler (while covered in a blanket or bedsheet).The first time I saw Bhagwanji with my own eyes was after he passed away, and he closely resembled Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose," Shukla said.

Mukherjee served as minister of commerce and steel & mines from January 1980 to January 1982, and finance minister from January 1982 to December 1984.

In June, the Uttar Pradesh government set up Justice Vishnu Sahai Commission to probe the identity of Gumnami Baba, reigniting the debate whether the ascetic who lived in the state's Faizabad district till 1985 was Netaji.

While the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government in 2015 declassified 64 files on Netaji, the Narendra Modi-led government, beginning this January, has made public a series of files revealing many sensational facts about the revolutionary.

Lucknow: Reacting to reinstatement of ousted leader Ramgopal Yadav as Samajwadi Party general secretary, party`s Uttar Pradesh president Shivpal Yadav on Thursday said the decision was taken by Netaji and they would always support his decision.

"Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) is the top most leader and national president of the party, and he has taken the decision. I have said it earlier as well that Netaji`s decision is the last decision and we will always support his decision," said Shivpal Yadav, who had announced his cousin brother Ramgopal`s expulsion from the party.

Ramgopal Yadav was also reinstated as party`s spokesperson and as a member of the party`s Central Parliamentary Board, announced SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav in a press note.

"This was bound to happen. It is because of the blessings of Netaji as he was never against me," Yadav told ANI here.

"I was always part of the party; I had never left it, though I was ousted technically," he added.

At the height of the Samajwadi Party family feud, Ram Gopal Yadav was expelled on the instructions of Mulayam Singh on October 23.

Ramgopal was expelled from the party by Mulayam Singh. 

Announcing the decision, Shivpal had levelled serious charges of corruption, manipulation and sabotage against him. 

He accused Ramgopal of conniving with the BJP to harm the Samajwadi Party.

Kolkata: Ashish Ray, researcher and grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, on Sunday claimed that he has incontestable evidence with him to prove that Bose died in an air crash in Taiwan in 1945. 

"There are three reports which clearly state that Bose had died in the air crash in 1945 and did not have the opportunity to enter the Soviet Union," Ray said, while demanding that the ashes in the Renkoji temple should be brought back to India.

Earlier, two reports by the Japanese government have stated that Netaji had died in the Taiwan air crash whereas another report which is lying with the Russian state archives clearly mentions that Netaji didn't have the opportunity to enter the erstwhile Soviet Union on 1945 or afterwards, Ray said.

"He was never held as a prisoner in USSR," he added.

Ray, however, maintains that Netaji might have plans to move to Russia after the World War II as he had always believed that Moscow would support his cause to liberate India from the then British rule. 

"Netaji Bose felt that Japan would not be able to protect him as it had surrendered," Ray said.

Coming to contrary views on the issue, Ray urged the Indian government to conduct a DNA test of the ashes in the Renkiji temple. 

"For how long can we be in denial, irrespective of so much evidence which points towards his death in the plane crash. We have accounts of six or seven persons, including Habibur Rehman. I think if possible a DNA test of the ashes in Renkiji temple should be done and the ashes should be brought back to India," he said. 

Kolkata: The car in which Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had made his 'great escape' from his ancestral home here in 1941, while under house arrest by the then British government, has been restored and will be unveiled by President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday.

The German Wanderer sedan of 1937 make has been restored to its 1941 look by automobile giant Audi and is now in excellent running condition, Krishna Bose, wife of Netaji's nephew Sisir Kumar Bose, told PTI.

"The President will flag off the car tomorrow, which was last driven by my husband Dr Sisir Bose for a shooting of a Japanese news channel in 1978 after it was gifted to Netaji Research Bureau by our family in 1958 and kept for visitors there," the former Lok Sabha MP said.

Krishna Bose said she and other family members had taken ride in the car till 1957.

She said though the car was in a good condition, the family and Netaji Research Bureau wanted to restore it to the 1941 look when Netaji was driven from Kolkata to Gomoh by Sisir Kumar Bose in the month of January.

"Engineers from Audi with the help of our technicians worked tirelessly for the past six months to bring that look in the car and now it will be unveiled for the people tomorrow," she said. 

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday remembered Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his 120th birth anniversary.

Taking to Twitter, Modi described Netaji as "a great intellectual who always thought about the interests and well-being of the marginalised sections of society".

Saluting Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, the PM further said that he was honoured that the government was able to declassify the files relating to the freedom fighter following popular demand.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose died in 1945 air crash, his ashes should be brought back to India: Grandnephew

Here are his tweets:

I salute Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary. His valour played a major role in freeing India from colonialism.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 23, 2017

Netaji Bose was a great intellectual who always thought about the interests & wellbeing of the marginalised sections of society.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 23, 2017

Honoured that our Government got the opportunity to declassify files relating to Netaji Bose & fulfil a popular demand pending for decades.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 23, 2017

Files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose are available on https://t.co/IftvV0e2V2

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 23, 2017

Darjeeling: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said truth should come out regarding the mysterious disappearance of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

"We celebrate the birth anniversary of Netaji every year but we do not know about his disappearance. This is a tragedy," she said at a programme here on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Netaji.

"We had declassified all Netaji files which were with the state government. Some files were there with the central government. Truth may come out if there was an investigation but unfortunately it did not happen," she said.

"Netaji's birthday is as important for us as Independence Day or Republic Day. Netaji was a leader of the country. A true leader does not discriminate, works for all," she said.

On the occasion, Banerjee made subtle criticism of the abolition of the Planning Commission saying, "Netaji had a very clear vision for the country. He thought of the Planning Commission even before the Independence".

The chief minister said her government has allotted Rs 10 lakh for the renovation of the house where Netaji had stayed in the hills.

On the development of the hills, she said, "Bengal is not complete without the hills. We have already allotted almost Rs 300 crore to the various development boards. We have formed three new development boards for the hills and allotted Rs 10 crore for them.

"We will fulfil the dream of Netaji. We will keep working for the common people", she said. 

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Monday presented the National Bravery Awards to 25 children from different parts of the country who have been selected for the honour by the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW).

The National Bravery Award Scheme was initiated by the ICCW in 1957 to give recognition to children who distinguish themselves by performing outstanding deeds of bravery and meritorious service. 

"Their deeds of bravery show these children`s decisiveness and courage," the Prime Minister said during the felicitation ceremony. 

Interacting with the awardees, he said: "You must ensure that this award does not become the end of your life`s purpose, but rather should only mark the beginning." 

He said that bravery is a state of mind; a healthy body helps, but the prime moving force is the mind.

He further added, "we need to make the mind strong. The adulation and fame that you are getting, should not become an obstacle to the future progress." 

Modi reminded the children about the significance of the day -- January 23 which is Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose`s birth anniversary -- and urged them to read as much as possible.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi was also present on the occasion. 

Kolkata: Rejecting the Centre's statement on the death of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, BJP leader and his grand nephew Chandra Bose on Wednesday demanded setting up a special investigation team to unravel the mystery of Netaji's disappearance.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose died in an aircrash in 1945, the Central government said today, putting to an end a controversy that refuses to be buried about the freedom fighter having survived the accident.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a reply to an RTI application from a Kolkata resident that the government had come to this conclusion after considering the reports of various committees that probed the death of Bose, who, many believed, had not perished in the crash.

"I demand the Central government immediately take action against the officer who gave such an irresponsible reply. How can the government come to a conclusion regarding Netaji's death without concrete evidence?" he asked.

"The Central government should apologise for such misleading statements and form an SIT to unravel the mystery of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's disappearance," Bose, vice-president of the Bengal BJP unit, told PTI.

The RTI query was filed by Sayak Sen, convener of Open Platform for Netaji, under the Right To Information Act to the Home Ministry about the whereabouts of Netaji post August 18, 1945.

He also sought to know how many files were declassified by the MHA and how many were yet to be declassified besides the information about one Gumnami Baba living in Uttar Pradesh in the 80s.

On the question of Gumnami Baba, the RTI reply said, "Some information regarding Gumnami Baba and Bhagwanji is available in the Mukherjee Commission report on page 114-122...The Mukherjee Commission had come to the conclusion that Gumnami Baba/Bhagwanji was not Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Ministry of Home Affairs has declassified all available files (37) relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose."

Netaji had gone missing in 1945 and some of his family members had rejected the report of his death in a plane crash in Taihoku airport in Taiwan on August 18 that year.

In October, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met the family members of Netaji and announced that the government would declassify the files relating to the leader.

Last year, on Netaji's 119th birth anniversary on January 23, as many as 100 secret files were made public by Modi. 

Kolkata: Grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Bengal BJP vice-president Chandra Kumar Bose has urged the Central Government to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to unravel the mystery behind the freedom fighter's demise.

Bose has also asserted that the SIT should comprise of members from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and a member from their family.

Bose later took to Twitter to reiterate his stand on the issue.

"If the Govt. Of India seriously wants to solve #NetajiMystery , a Special Investigation Team must be formed with immediate effect," he tweeted.

According to reports, Bose has even sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for this demand.

The recent RTI disclosure from the Centre, declaring that Netaji died in the plane crash, drew flak and severe criticism not only from the members of the Bose family, but also from the Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other Opposition parties.

For years now, Chandra Kumar Bose has led the section of people, who have raised doubts against the theory that Netaji died in an air-crash in Taiwan on August 18, 1945.

While demanding that Prime Minister Modi starts negotiations with the governments of Russia, England and Japan to solve the mystery, the Chandra Kumar faction has even asked for the declassification of secret files with the Centre.

Etawah: Samajwadi Party's national president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday admitted that his father and SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav is "angry" with him, and hence did not turn up here for the birthday of his uncle Ramgopal Yadav who turned 71 today.

"Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) is not angry with uncle Ramgopal. He is angry with me. Hence, he did not turn up at today's event," Akhilesh said here, while referring to absence of the SP patriarch from the birthday celebrations.

Mulayam's brother and senior SP MLA Shivpal Singh Yadav, Akhilesh's bitter rival, also did not attend the event.

Showering praises on Ramgopal, the former UP chief minister said, "Uncle had worked to take SP forward. He has saved the party and its election symbol (cycle). It was under the leadership and direction of uncle (Ramgopal) that the government was able to accomplish big tasks and development projects".

Akhilesh went on to say, "The biggest expressway from Agra to Lucknow was completed in record 22 months. Can any government make a highway in such a small time duration?"

As Ramgopal turned 71, senior SP leaders including Naresh Agarwal, Ahmed Hasan, Balram Yadav and a host of other leaders gathered at Saifai Mahotsava Pandal to wish him.

Former UP minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia described Ramgopal as an umbrella of the party, while Agarwal said that SP will register its protest against the new GST regime which will be rolled out on July 1. 

Kolkata: Claiming that there have been constant attempts to divide Indians' patriotism, West Bengal Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi on Wednesday said there is a need to bring back the feeling of patriotism that was once shared by leaders of India's freedom struggle like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

"Sometimes from outside and sometimes from inside the country, there have been constant attempts to divide our sense of patriotism. I feel there is need to revive the feeling of patriotism that was shared by Netaji and his elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose," Tripathi said at an event on "The legacy of Bose brothers and patriotism" here.

"There are stone pelters in some provinces while the moles and sleeping agents are active at many other parts of the country. People of the country know about it. The people are aware of it but cannot raise their voice, as feeling of integrated patriotism is getting lost," he claimed.

Referring to the contribution of Sarat Chandra Bose who argued strongly against Partition, Tripathi said Bengal would not have been divided if the then government listened to the appeal and expressed his concern about the situation in West Bengal after 10 years.

"Sometimes I wonder that had Sarat Chandra Bose's appeals against the partition of India was accepted, then we would have been sitting in Bengal instead of West Bengal," he said.

"I get concerned thinking whether the situation in West Bengal would remain the same after 10 years from now and at that point, it feels necessary to revive the feeling of patriotism that once guided the people here," he said.

Taking an indirect swipe at the central government during Congress rule, Tripathi said the power that once opposed renaming the gate of Cellular Jail in Andaman and Nicobar Island after Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, is the same power that stopped the people from knowing truth about Netaji's death and the contribution of his 'Azad Hind Fauj' during the fight of independence.

Stating that it is important to let people know the truth behind the nation's freedom struggle, he said the some portions of India's history should be rewritten.

"It is important to let people know the truth, not hide it from them.When people know the truth they gain strength. There is a need to unite the strenght of truth in the country. That is why there is a need to rewrite the history of the nation," Tripathi added.
 

NEW DELHI: On the 120th birth anniversary of freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, top leader and politicos of the country took to social media to pay tributes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who's currently in Davos to attend the World Economic Forum summit, tweeted a video: 

The valour of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose makes every Indian proud. We bow to this great personality on his Jayanti. pic.twitter.com/Qrao1dnmQZ

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 23, 2018

President Ram Nath Kovind also tweeted: “On his birthday, I offer my tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He remains one of our most beloved national heroes and an icon of India's freedom struggle #PresidentKovind.”

Here are some other tweets by political leaders:

Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah wrote:

I bow to the legendary Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary. Netaji's patriotism, courage and bravery were exceptional. His charismatic leadership had inspired millions of youth to participate in India's Independence struggle. pic.twitter.com/891MUx3BH6

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) January 23, 2018

On the 120th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, I pay my humble tributes to the great son of India Netaji’s role in securing freedom is equally significant as anyone else. The present generation should imbibe his nationalistic spirit and uphold it the patriotic zeal pic.twitter.com/Tloal5Yv4x

— Dr. Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) January 23, 2018

I bow to the proud son of India, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary. An epitome of courage & bravery, #Netaji's legacy has inspired generations of Young Indians over the years. pic.twitter.com/ISCW3EguR6

— B.S. Yeddyurappa (@BSYBJP) January 23, 2018

On his birth anniversary, I pay my tributes to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, a national icon and charismatic leader, who gave ' Jai Hind' slogan. pic.twitter.com/09ls3xi5Su

— VicePresidentOfIndia (@VPSecretariat) January 23, 2018

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897, in Cuttack, Orissa. A bright student, he had cracked the Civil Services Examination, but later quit to contribute to the freedom struggle of India. In 1942,  he established the Indian National Army to fight with the help of Japan. Netaji later established the provisional government of Azad Hind (Free India) in 1943 in Andaman and Nicobar.

Bose is believed to have died in a plane crash. However, due to mysterious circumstances surrounding his death, the Centre has set up a number of committees to investigate the case.

Netaji Jayanti this year celebrates the 121st birth anniversary of Subhash Chandra Bose.

Jabalpur: Another instance of statue vandalism or defacing has cropped up. This time from Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur. A white statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was smeared with red colour on Friday morning. 

Taking note of the offence, local administration and police have initiated the preliminary investigation. 

Several incidents of statue vandalism has been reported from various parts of the country in the last one week. 

Two statues of Vladimir Lenin was demolished by a mob in Tripura last week – one razed by mob, another at Sabroom Motor Stand in Agartala and another by a bulldozer at Belonia College Square in a Tripura town. 

On Friday, BJP leader Ram Madhav said that the statue of Lenin here was not vandalised but removed by people who had placed it. m. "No statue has been broken in Tripura. This is false information. Some people had put a statue on a private land and then removed it. It is not vandalism," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Following the vandalism of the idols of Communist icon, a statue of Dravidian ideologue ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy was damaged in Tirupattur in Tamil Nadu. This was followed by defacing statues of Bharatiya Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee in Jadavpur University in West Bengal, Dr BR Ambedkar in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and Mahatma Gandhi in Taliparamba in Kannur district of Kerala was defaced.

As if destroying statues of leaders was not enough, miscreants targeted a statue of Lord Hanuman in Kharuav village in Uttar Pradesh's Balia. A poster was stuck on the idol. 

With spikes in incidents of statue vandalism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned all such incidents and spoke to Home Minister Rajnath Singh for strict action against the guilty.

"Incidents of toppling of statues have been reported from certain parts of the country. MHA has taken serious notes of such incidents of vandalism. PM also spoke to Home Minister in this regard and has expressed his strong disapproval of such incidents," the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Wednesday.

Reacting to the issue, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said, “Some may support Lenin, some may support Ho Chi Minh, some may support Karl Marx, some may support Syama Prasad Mookerjee. One may not agree with them but no one should show disrespect or destroy the statues."

With agency inputs

NEW DELHI: Russian President Vladimir Putin must prove his friendship with India by declassifying files of Bose and Shastri and providing information on former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, said Bharatiya Janata Party leader  Subramanian Swamy on Thursday.

“Putin should prove he is our friend by declassifying files of Bose and Shastri,” said the senior BJP leader. 

“He should tell us why Sonia Gandhi went to Russia twice recently to meet him. He must give us record of Sonia and her father's KGB affiliations. Right now he is playing both sides,” he further alleged. 

Komitet gosudarstvennoy bezopasnosti (KGB) was the chief security agency for the Soviet Union from 1954 until its break-up in 1991.

Sonia Gandhi visited Russia earlier this year for a conference.

At the time, Swamy had tweeted, “Desperate Congi leaders are planning to use TDK’s KGB connection to urge Putin’s Russia to influence our 2019 elections. We must be therefore on high alert.”
 

Desperate Congi leaders are planning to use TDK’s KGB connection to urge Putin’s Russia to influence our 2019 elections. We must be therefore on high alert

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) April 27, 2018

Last month he had claimed that former Russian President Joseph Stalin was instrumental in "murdering" Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and he did not die in plane crash in 1945 as is widely believed.

"Bose did not die in 1945. It is wrong. It is a conspiracy of Nehru and the Japenese. Subhash Chandra Bose sought shelter in Russia and was granted asylum. Jawaharlal Nehru knew everything. Later, Bose was murdered there," he said.