Mamata urges Modi to declare Jan 23 national holiday

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention for declaring Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's birthday on January 23 as a national holiday.

She also urged Modi to personally see that Centre takes appropriate steps to give a conclusive picture on freedom fighter's disappearance on August 18, 1945.

"Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose has a special place in our hearts. I would like to request your kind personal intervention to see that Central Government declared 23rd January, Netaji's birthday, a National Holiday and also takes appropriate steps to give a conclusive position to issue relating to disappearance of Netaji...(sic)" CM wrote.

In her two-p-long letter, Banerjee emphasised that state h long been demanding that January 23 be declared a national holiday.

She furr requested PM to give people "much-awaited opportunity to kw what happened to ir great leer - ir inspiration and ir passion".

Born in 1897, Netaji's 125th birth anniversary will be observed next year.

Several reports have claimed that Netaji boarded a plane from Taihoku Airport in Taiwan which crashed leing to death of leer. re is, however, confirmation on his demise, as experts, over years, have come up with different ories on his disappearance.

Centre h commissioned three inquiries, -- Shah Nawaz Committee of Inquiry of 1956, Khosla Commission of 1974, and Justice Mukherjee Commission of Inquiry (JMCI) of 2005 -- to shed light on mysteries surrounding death or disappearance of Netaji.

first two commissions h concluded that Netaji died following a plane crash in Taipei, while third probe panel contested claim and suggested that Bose was alive after that.

On September 1, 2016, Narendra Modi government h declassified 100 reports on Bose. Banerjee h in September 2015 me public 64 files related to freedom fighter.

ne, however, could help draw any conclusion.