Maharashtra Minister and state NCP chief Jayant Patil took a dig at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that he was arrested for participating in a Satyagrah during the Bangladesh War of 1971. ‘’We must have faith in the Prime Minister of our country. But if he gives information about exactly when he was arrested and what police station or jail he was kept, then the people of India will have more faith in the beloved PM,’’ said Patil in a tweet.
Patil took a swipe against Modi when Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned Modi’s claim and shared a mocked reworked illustration taken during Pakistan’s surrender. It was captioned ‘’ Entire political science by Narendra Modi.’’
Historian Srinath Raghavan said on Twitter, “The claim that anyone did satyagraha for the freedom of Bangladesh and were arrested is too ridiculous to require refutation.”
On the other hand, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted, ‘’ International Education: Our PM is giving Bangladesh a taste of Indian ‘fake news.’ The absurdity is that everyone knows who liberated Bangladesh.’’
However, BJP IT Chief Amit Malviya refuted the Congress and a section of historians questioning the Satyagraha. In a tweet he said, “Was Prime Minister Modi part of satyagrah organised by Jana Sangha for recognition of Bangladesh? “Yes, he was. A citation awarded by Bangladesh to Vajpayee ji speaks of the rally. PM Modi, in a book authored in 1978, also wrote about going to Tihar during Bangladesh satyagrah!”