Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh responded to National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s statement regarding Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s potential impact on India’s partition, expressing his disagreement. Ramesh pointed out that it is impossible to definitively determine the outcome as by 1940, Netaji had already formed the Forward Bloc. He referred to the question as a counterfactual one and criticized Doval, labeling him as a new addition to the group of individuals distorting historical facts. Previously, Ramesh had used the term “distorians” for Kiren Rijiju.
During the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Memorial Lecture on Saturday, Doval had mentioned that had Netaji been present, India would not have been partitioned, citing Jinnah’s preference for Netaji as the sole leader. Ramesh highlighted Netaji’s challenge to Gandhi, describing him as a leftist and a staunch secular individual. Ramesh emphasized that it is uncertain whether partition could have been prevented due to the formation of the Forward Bloc by 1940.
Ramesh also pointed out that Doval omitted the fact that Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, rather than Netaji’s elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose, championed the partition of Bengal, despite opposition. Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, a Trinamool MP, asserted that both the Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha shared responsibility for India’s partition. Ray further mentioned that even the Communist Party of India supported the Muslim League’s demand for a separate homeland. He added that Shyama Prasad Mukherjee served as Deputy Premier of Bengal under Fazlul Haque, who proposed the Lahore Resolution at the Muslim League Conference, calling for Pakistan.
Also Read: Jairam Ramesh Challenges Ajit Doval’s Claim on Netaji and India’s Partition
