KOLKATA: There is enough indication that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose might have been alive after 1945, chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Friday after declassifying 64 secret files on Netaji. She is the first government representative to say so, turning the tables on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was trying to extract political mileage on the issue after the Congress put it on the back burner for decades.

Mamata released a digital version of the 64 files, triggering unprecedented excitement among Netaji followers and prompting Netaji's niece-in-law Krishna Bose to acknowledge that it was a "bold step" in unlocking the mystery. What's more, the CM touched a chord with the rebellious Bengali sentiment that has never accepted the Congress and communist governments' indifference towards this national hero .

The 64 confidential files made public on Friday have several references and correspondence indicating Netaji's presence after 1945. The most crucial of them is a Howrah CID report quoting British and US intelligence reports that Netaji was alive after 1945 and "might have undertaken training in Russia". The files also reveal how members of the Bose family were spied upon by the state decades after Independence.

While releasing the files at the Police Museum, Mamata pressured the Centre to declassify its own secret documents on Netaji. "It is time for the Centre to release their files," Mamata said, referring to the 130 files held by central government departments and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

READ ALSO: Netaji X-files reveal he was alive till 1964

Addressing a press meet, Mamata said: "There are mentions here and there about Netaji after 1945 which indicate that he might have been alive (after the alleged Taihoku crash). I have not seen all the files. But we have made a beginning. People should know the truth. Let the central government declassify the files on Netaji. Let good sense prevail. You cannot suppress the truth. Let the truth come out."

"In 70 years, the mystery of Netaji's disappearance has not been solved. It is unfortunate. How long you can keep it under secrecy. You read the files in detail," she urged.

With one masterstroke, Mamata has built bridges with members of the Bose family who have been campaigning for the files to be made public and may have won over a section of Bengal's population that was disgruntled with her government.

READ ALSO: Can't declassify Subhash Chandra Bose files, PMO says

Netaji's grand-nephew Chandra Bose hoped that this will finally put enough pressure on the Centre to release their files. "The chief minister's comments are significant since we finally have an official confirmation that Bose was alive after 1945. By keeping the files (on Netaji) under secrecy for 70 years, some leaders have betrayed the country. It is the duty of the central government to declassify the files in their possession and expose them."

Even former Trinamool MP Krishna Bose, the wife of Netaji's nephew Sisir Bose, who believes in the Taihoku air crash theory, described the CM's declassification as a bold step. "So far there were gossips, now the truth will come out. I am happy that the files have been made public. This secrecy has helped to spread a lot of speculative stories about Netaji post-1945. We still do not know what happened between 1945 and 1949. In fact, there is no trace of him till the mid-1950s. So, it is important to get the files in the Centre's possession released. In my opinion, they are far more important than the state files and could indeed shed light on what really happened," she said.

READ ALSO: Stalin killed Netaji, Subramanian Swamy says

Mamata also won hearts of activists and sympathizers of Forward Bloc — the party founded by Netaji and now a Left Front partner. "We welcome the CM's move. We want the Centre to declassify its 135 secret files. They will reveal the Congress conspiracy to keep him (Netaji) away from Independent India," Bloc all-India secretary Debabrata Biswas said.

How Mamata gains:

1. Strikes a chord on a highly emotional issue for Bengalis

2. By saying that Netaji might have been alive after 1945, she has built bridges with members of the Netaji family other than former TMC MP Krishna Bose and her son and present MP Sugata Bose who endorse the Taihoku crash theory

3. Wins hearts in Forward Bloc — a Left Front partner — when CPM showed no interest in making the files public while in power for 34 years

4. Scores over the BJP government at the Centre, dampens Modi's bid to extract political mileage on the issue

5. Might win over a section of the educated middle class that was disenchanted with her government

Read this story in Hindi — प्लेन क्रैश में नहीं मरे थे नेता जी: ममता