Oppn, Left seek debate on Justice Mukherjee report

New Delhi, May 18: Strongly objecting to the government's rejection of the Justice M K Mukherjee Commission' findings that Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose did not die in a plane crash, members of the opposition and Left parties in the Lok Sabha today sought a debate on the Commission's report.

Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee said the government was ready for a discussion on the findings adding that the report was rejected in the same manner as was done by the previous NDA government while setting up the Justice Mukherjee Commission six years ago.

''The A B Vajpayee government had also rejected the findings of the two previous inquiry commissions while instituting a fresh one....Nothing is abnormal about the government action now,'' he added.

BJP deputy floor leader V K Malhotra said the findings of the Mukherjee Commission were serious as it referred to the hitherto known fact of Netaji's death in the plane crash as ''cooked up''.

Mr Ramji Lal Suman(SP) said the findings needed to be debated as they had ''demolished the earlier conviction among the Indians'' that the ashes at Tokyo's Renkoji temple are that of Netaji.

Several other members including B H Mahtab (BJD) and Mr Prabhunath Singh (JD-U) frequently got up to demand discussion and counter Parliamentary Affairs Minister P.R Dasmusi's assertion that there was nothing wrong in rejecting the Commission's findings.

Left leaders Basudeb Acharia and Rup Chand Pal (both CPI-M) also insisted the government place the Commission's report and the 'Action Taken Report' of the government before Parliament.

After about 15 minutes of heated exchange of words between the treasury and opposition benches, Deputy Speaker Charnjit Singh Atwal announced that the Commission report would be placed in the House but its timings and duration of discussion would be decided by the floor leaders tomorrow.

UNI