It may sound ironical but the information declassified by the US government and put in public domain is still tagged as confidential by Ministry of External Affairs as is evident in a case pertaining to the mole in Indira Gandhi's cabinet in 1972.
After the directions of Central Information Commission (CIC) to provide information in the case, the MEA has 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 them claiming confidentiality.
The information was sought by Anuj Dhar, author of the book "CIA's Eye on South Asia" which carries details of the case, under the RTI Act.
But it was rejected by the ministry saying it does not take into cognizance reports of foreign governments, newspapers and books as those are unsubstantiated.
"While ministry is claiming confidentiality clause, the US government has declassified memorandum of conversation between Singh and Rogers titled "Indian Allegations Regarding CIA Activities", Dhar said.
The spy case created furore after it came to light that a senior Indian minister was allegedly leaking crucial information on cabinet meetings to CIA.
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