New Delhi, Dec 12: The Congress on Friday termed as a “blatant lie” Home Minister Amit Shah’s “vote chori” charge against Jawaharlal Nehru as he cited eminent historian-author Rajmohan Gandhi’s comments that people were very happy with Nehru becoming the prime minister and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel himself was in favour of it.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a video clip of Rajmohan Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, in which he clarifies that the Pradesh Congress Committee’s had batted for Patel to be the Congress president in 1946 and there was no question of prime ministership at the time.
“The eminent historian-author and ex-MP Rajmohan Gandhi exposes one blatant lie told by the Union Home Minister in the Lok Sabha,” Ramesh said on X.
Rajmohan’s paternal grandfather was the Mahatma while his maternal grandfather was C. Rajagopalachari, Nehru pointed out and shared the over 13-minute clip of Rajmohan Gandhi.
“Thousands of people who went in jail for the Quit India movement were released in 1945. Maulana Azad was the Congress president since the Ramgarh session of the Congress in 1940. Since so many people went to jail the question of electing a new president did not come up and the Congress had also been banned,” Rajmohan Gandhi said.
So Maulana Azad continued as president and in 1946, the question of electing a new president arose, he said.
“The question about who would be the prime minister was not there. People knew that India would achieve freedom soon but there was no agreement reached between the British and the Indians side,” he said.
“There was a practice that every PCC used to put forward a name that this person should be made a president. And if 3-4 names used to come then all of these names were put before (Mahatma) Gandhi ji and he used to say ‘let us give a chance to this person’ and people used to agree with him mostly,” he said.
The person chosen by Gandhi was unanimously decided as the next president of the Congress, Rajmohan Gandhi said.
“I don’t say this was a good method but this was being followed at that time,” he said.
When in 1946, the question of presidentship arose many PCCs forwarded the name of Sardar Patel that he should be made president and two-three PCCs also put forward the name of Acharya Kriplani, but nobody put forward the name of Nehru, he said.
“D P Mishra of Jabalpur has written in his book that when ‘we put forward the name of Patel, ‘we did not have prime ministership in mind’,” Rajmohan Gandhi said.
Patel had been president just once in 1931, while Nehru was president 1929, 1936 and 1937, he pointed out.
“Patel was 14 years older to Nehru, his health was also not good and had a massive role in the Quit India movement. So many people thought that they would give Patel honour by making him the president but there was no thought about making him the PM,” he said.
“Gandhi ji told Patel and Kriplani to take back their names and they immediately did so. When the working committee was sitting, they (working committee members) only proposed that Nehru be made president,” Rajmohand Gandhi said.
When agreement was made with the British, Nehru was the Congress president and was invited to form the government, the historian said.
“If Congress leaders would have wanted Patel to become PM then at least some newspaper would have reported it that they were unhappy with Nehru becoming PM. There would have been resolution that ‘we are disappointed that Patel could not become PM’. If common people wanted Patel to become the PM then their views would have been reflected at least somewhere,” he said.
“People were very happy with Nehru becoming PM and Sardar Patel himself was in favour of it,” Rajmohan Gandhi said.
“Sardar Patel died in December 1950 but in October, he had made a speech in Indore in which he said Nehru becoming PM is very good for the country and Gandhi ji’s decision that he becomes Congress president and later PM was the right one,” Rajmohan Gandhi said.
The Congress on Thursday rebutted Shah’s “vote chori” charge against Nehru, saying the claim that he was made the prime minister despite Patel being the popular choice is a “lie” and a “figment of imagination”.
Intervening in the debate on election reforms in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Shah cited three instances of alleged “vote chori” by Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
“So, 28 votes went to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and two were cast in favour of Jawaharlal Nehru. But Nehru ji ended up being the prime minister,” he had said, prompting an uproar in the Opposition benches. (PTI)
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