New Delhi:
After the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) refused information under RTI in a case pertaining to a mole in Indira Gandhi's Cabinet, the Home Ministry and PMO have now denied any inputs on the issue.
The ministries have forwarded their replies in this regard to the MEA, which had sent to them the RTI application of Anuj Dhar, author of the book "CIA's Eye on South Asia" which carries details of the case.
The spy case created furore in 1972 after it came to light that a senior Indian minister was allegedly leaking crucial information on Cabinet meetings to CIA.
Dhar sought information about the case from MEA including names and other details about the people who were in touch with the CIA and leaked details of the proceedings of the Congress Working Committee.
MEA accepted that records of discussions of meetings between the then Minister of External Affairs Swaran Singh and US Secretary William Rogers on October 5, 1972 were available but refused to disclose citing confidentiality clause.
It forwarded some portions of the application to MHA and PMO seeking details, if any in their possession, about the issue to which they have replied that no information could be traced about the issue, according to the MEA reply to Dhar.
The portions forwarded to the Home Ministry included copies of all records dealing with the recurring allegations that a minister betrayed the nation by leaking out information to the CIA during the 1971 war and detailed list of all destroyed or missing records on the issue.
Besides request for photocopies of records pertaining to claims made by columnist Jack Anderson in The Washington Post in December 1971 and Thomas Powers in his 1979 book "The Man Who Kept the Secrets" that an Indian politician was on the American snooping agency's rolls was also sent to MHA.
In his RTI application, Dhar sought "photocopies" of records, if any, relating to the accusations made by journalist Semour Hersh in 1983 in his book "The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House".
Dhar's request was forwarded to PMO by MEA. But the top office in its reply said it has no information pertaining to the issue.
"Serious allegations were levelled against a former prime minister, he fought a case in America but not a single note is generated in PMO. Is it believable? That key ministries do not have any details about a issue which compromised country's security during wartime is
unbelievable," Dhar said.
According to him, it has been more than 38 years since the issue was raised and not making these records public casts a doubt about the government's intentions to bring transparency in the system.