New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government had made a huge spectacle of the 75th-anniversary celebrations of the Azad Hind Fauj by organising an event at Red Fort on October 21, 2018, where the National Flag was also unfurled by the prime minister, who donned an INA cap during the event.Though the PM used the occasion to attack the Congress, accusing it of “negating” the contribution of leaders such as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, B.R. Ambedkar and Sardar Patel to “promote one family”, the NDA government at the Centre has since chosen not to respond to key questions relating to the event.In a recent response to a query filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by one Avdesh Kumar Chaturvedi, the Archaeological Survey of India, to which the query was transferred by the Prime Minister’s Office, said it “does not know who all shared stage with PM during the celebration”.The event was organised to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Azad Hind government formed by freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. This government was raised by Bose during the freedom movement and the decision to hoist the National Flag at the Red Fort on October 21, 2018 was taken as it was here that soldiers of the Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj faced trials by the British.Also Read: An Indian Bastille: The Andaman Islands and the Red Fort TrialHistory of Provincial GovernmentOn the importance of the Proclamation of the Provisional Government of Free India, Sumeru Roy Chaudhury, who studied the Netaji files and related documents in detail, had written in The Wire:“The grandest day was October 21, 1943. On this day Bose announced the formation of the Provisional Government of Free India (PGFI), Arzi Hakumat-e-Azad Hind, or, in short, Azad Hind Government, an Indian government-in-exile. It started functioning from Singapore with 11 ministers and eight representatives from the INA.The PGFI was a culmination of the political movement originating in the early 1940s outside India with the purpose to liberate her from the British rule. The government of Azad Hind soon had its own currency, court, civil code and national anthem ‘Subh Sukh Chain’. The INA had its motto, ‘Ittehad, Itmad aur Qurbani’ (unity, faith and sacrifice) and its national greeting ‘Jai Hind’. Its existence gave greater legitimacy to the independence struggle.”Subash Chandra Bose proclaiming the formation of the Provincial Government of Free India in Singapore.75th-anniversary celebrations were held on a grand scaleThe commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the PGFI was thus conducted on a grand scale. Several INA veterans were also invited to the event. Along with them, Prime Minister Modi had also sported the INA cap.It was a privilege to hoist the Tricolour at the Red Fort, marking 75 years of the establishment of the Azad Hind Government.We all remember the courage and determination of Netaji Subhas Bose. pic.twitter.com/m9SuBTxhPQ— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 21, 2018However, when Chaturvedi raised some queries about the event in November 2018 with the PMO, the Ministry of Culture and the ASI, he did not get proper answers.In a recent order, the chief information commissioner Y.K. Sinha recorded how Chaturvedi had sought information on five points.His first query was that on January 23 of 2015, 2016 and 2017, the prime minister of the current Government of India “regularly paid homage to the great patriot Subhas Chandra Bose on his birth anniversary”. Then what was the reason for not paying him homage on January 23, 2018, he asked.The second query was about the 75th foundation day of the Azad Hind Fauj, celebrated on October 21, 2018. “There, the prime minister wore [INA’s] cap but instead of unfurling its flag, which has a jumping cheetah, he waved the National Tricolour that has a spoke wheel at the centre. Under what circumstances was this done?” he asked.The third query pertained to the prime minister’s statement that Bose, when announcing the formation of the Azad Hind Fauj, had mentioned, dreamt of and spoken about unfurling the tricolour at Red Fort.Appellant also asked details of cases filed against BoseChaturvedi also asked for the details of those linked to the INA who were present on the dais during the celebration on October 21, 2018. He also demanded to know the “political and caste-based parties and radical religious organisations” that had “played a role” in the cases filed against Subhas Chandra Bose. The applicant urged that the reply be provided from the proof and documents available with the Union Government.In response to the first three queries, the chief public information officer in the PMO had on December 31, 2018 stated that as per section 2(f) of the RTI Act, 2005, only that information which is available in material form can be accessed. He had stated that “matters of opinion do not constitute information that can be accessed under the Act.”For the fourth point pertaining to those who shared the dais with the PM, the CPIO of the PMO had transferred the RTI application to the Ministry of Culture, which in turn had sent it to the Archaeological Survey of India. For the last point, the CPIO, PMO had stated that the information sought was “sweeping, generic and vague in nature.”Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the celebration of the 75th-anniversary of the Azad Hind Fauj’s formation, October 21, 2018. Photo: pmindia.gov.inASI, which organised event, also does not know who were present on daisSubsequently, in March 2019, the CPIO of the ASI replied to point 4, saying “the 75th anniversary of Azad Hind Fauj was organised by the Directorate office at Red Fort. The information sought by you is not available in the Delhi division.”Not satisfied with the replies, Chaturvedi filed a second appeal before the Commission, which heard the case on October 7 this year. During the hearing, the CPIO of the PMO said since the information pertaining to those who were present on the dais was not available with the office, the query was transferred to the organisers of the programme. However, the surveyor officer of ASI, who attended the hearing, also insisted that “no information regarding the persons who were on the dais in the programme held on 21.10.2018 was available with them”. The appeal was subsequently disposed of by the Commission.