Nehru's letter calling Netaji 'war criminal' fake: AAP

Varanasi, Jan 24: Aam Aadmi party today said that the purported letter by Jawaharlal Nehru allegedly calling Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose a 'war criminal' is "fake."

Addressing a press Conference, AAP leaders Ashutosh and Sanjay Singh seconded the Congress' claims about the letter calling it rubbish and forged. The AAP leaders said the letter that has surreptitiously been circulating on the internet was a part of "conspiracy in which few people were trying to portray one leader as greater than the other. They alleged earlier it was tried to glorify Sardar Patel as bigger than any other leader in the country.

The AAP leaders said that people "who have no association with country's freedom struggle are trying to belittle Nehru and Gandhi."

They also criticised the NDA government for declassifying secret files relating to Bose in parts. The duo said that the government should declassify all the files together instead of making it part-wise such as 25 files every month. Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made public digital copies of 100 secret files relating to Bose on his 119th birth anniversary, which could throw some light on the controversy over his death. The files were declassified and put on digital display at the National Archives of India (NAI).

The NAI also plans to release digital copies of 25 declassified files on Bose in the public domain every month. The AAP also targeted the Samjawadi party government for "jungle raj" in the state, and said law and order has been paralysed with loot and murder taking place frequently.

The duo also questioned BSP chief Mayawati's "silence" over the suicide of a Dalit student Rohith Vemula. Thy alleged that money and muscle power was used to win the Zila Panchayat elections, which the SP government openly supported. They also urged the election commission to hold the Zila Panchayat chief elections directly on public voting system instead of the voting by few elected Panchayat members.

PTI