Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Kashmir wouldn’t have become an issue had Sardar Patel, instead of Jawahar Lal Nehru, been the country's first Prime Minister, Congress President Rahul Gandhi hit back with a video of Home Minister Rajnath Singh praising Pandit Nehru.
Posting a November 2015 video, in which the Home Minister acknowledges Mr. Nehru’s contribution, the Congress chief tweeted: “Thank you Rajnath Singh ji for speaking the truth to power. Satyamev Jayate.”
In the video that’s a little over a minute, Mr. Singh calls Pandit Nehru a seasoned and experienced freedom fighter. He goes on to describe the first Prime Minister as one of the tall leaders who ensured parliamentary democracy, an independent judiciary and a vibrant media.
The two-year-old video is of an event that was held at Teen Murti to commemorate Pandit Nehru’s birth anniversary. Mr Singh had also said in his speech that many respected journals in developed countries wrote highly about Pt. Nehru.
These comments are in stark contrast to what Prime Minister Modi had said during his speech in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, while replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address. “How can one of the leaders say India got democracy due to Pandit Nehru and Congress Party? Is this their reading of India’s history? What arrogance is this?” Mr. Modi had asked.
Senior leader of the Congress Anand Sharma had hit back saying the Prime Minister was “intellectually inadequate” to appreciate Pandit Nehru's contributions.
