Nehru spied on Subhash Chandra Bose's family: Sources

The Intelligence Bureau on Friday denied de-classifying files which indicated that former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru spied on the family of freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose for two decades from 1948 to 1968, sources said.Nehru died on May 27, 1964 and spying continued for four years even after his death.Sources said that IB reports go to various government departments and the files could have been mixed up with general files for the declassified list.The reports suggested that apart from intercepting and copying letters written by Bose's family members, agency officials shadowed them on their domestic and foreign travels. The agency seemed especially keen to know to whom Bose's family met and their discussion.Bharatiya Janata Party leader MJ Akbar claimed that the government was unsure whether Bose was dead. Akbar said Bose was the only charismatic leader who could have mobilised and united the opposition parties against Congress, and offer it a serious challenge in the 1957 elections.Bose's grandnephew Chandra Kumar demanded a judicial probe into the spying. He said, "The spying of Subhash Chandra Bose is very shocking. We never expected that Nehru would spy on Subhash Chandra Bose."Janata Dal United KC Tyagi called the reports unfortunate. He said, "I find it hard to believe Nehru spied on Bose's family. If what is being reported is true, it is very unfortunate.

"The BJP took on the Congress over the revelations and claimed Nehru was scared of Bose. Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy hit out at the Congress saying, "I have known this all along. I want Congress to respond to report.

This proves that Nehru was scared of Subhash Chandra Bose. This shows how paranoid Nehru was about Subhash Chandra Bose."Swamy's party colleague and Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "The Congress has a tainted past and there are many skeletons in their cupboard. I won't be surprised if Nehru did in fact spy on Bose's family for 20 years." allocating funds and approving their annual plans.