New Delhi
24 August 2005
Reversing its earlier stand, the Indian embassy in
Japan has said that the decision to abstain from attending Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose's memorial service was deliberate as Indian missions
were told to skip such functions in view of the ongoing investigation by
the Mukherjee Commission.
Barely a day after it denied receiving an invitation for the August 18
memorial service to commemmorate the death anniversary of Netaji, the
embassy on Wednesday clarified that an invitation was indeed received.
"The embassy received an invitation," the official explained, but there
were "clear instructions from Delhi" not to attend functions held on August
18 to mark the death anniversary of Netaji.
The official said that [Justice Manoj Kumar Mukherjee] Commission was
inquiring into the circumstances leading to the death of Netaji and it would
not be appropriate to send "contradictory signals" by allowing an
Embassy official to attend the memorial service.
The Indian embassy in Japan had on Tuesday said that no invitation was
received in the name of the ambassador, Mr ML Tripathi, or any other
official of the mission.
The official reiterated that no disrespect was meant to be shown to Netaji
and that the government was careful not to hurt the sensibilities of people
in view of the "ongoing debate" and investigation by the Mukherjee
Commission.
For the last 60 years now, the death anniversary of Netaji Subhas
Chandra Bose is observed on August 18 every year. Netaji is believed to
have died in a plane crash on that day in 1945. A memorial service is
organised at the Renkoji Temple in Tokyo where an urn of ashes,
believed to be those of Netaji, is enshrined.
The All India Forward Bloc's Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, Mr
Subratra Bose, told this correspondent that he had met with External
Affairs Minister Natwar Singh last year to request him to ask government
officials to desist from attending such ceremonies.
"[The] presence of [an] official representative [conveys] a different
message," Mr Bose said. Mr Bose is among those who would accompany
Justice Mukherjee to Russia next month to explore Netaji's Russia
connection. The delegation will leave for Moscow on September 19 and
also travel to St Petersburg, Iksutz and Omsk.
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