Sir— This refers to the article, “Rahul’s Somnath visit is a gimmick” (November 29) by Anirban Ganguly. It is a matter of satisfaction that the Gujarat pollcampaign has now made the Congress and its vice president Rahul Gandhi cast aside its pseudo-secular policy of minority-appeasement for vote-bank politics. As Rahul is going from temple to temple including the world-famous Somnath Temple which was restored and reconstructedby Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel just after Independence, it is hoped that Rahul will continue regular visits to temples in different parts of the country even after the Gujarat poll.
It is also a bitter historical fact that first Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, great-grandfather of Rahul Gandhi had strongly opposed the then President Rajendra Prasad for inaugurating the restored Somnath Temple, and had criticised his Cabinet colleague KM Munshi for his active role in restoration of the temple after the death of Sardar Patel. Rahul should clarify where he stands on Nehru’s opposition to the reconstruction of Somnath and if accepts that his great-grandfather erred.