Opposition leaders slam Rajnath's remarks on Nehru
New Delhi (PTI): Several opposition leaders on Wednesday slammed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's remarks that the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, and accused him and the ruling BJP of distorting historical facts.
Addressing a gathering on Tuesday at Sadhli village near Vadodara as part of a 'Unity March' to commemorate Sardar Patel's 150th birth anniversary, Singh said, "Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to build the Babri Masjid (in Ayodhya) using public funds. If anyone opposed this proposal, it was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, born to a Gujarati mother.
"He didn't allow the Babri Masjid to be built using public funds".
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the remarks are aimed at distracting attention from real issues that need to be discussed.
"These are all distractions. There are many other real issues that need to be discussed. They create a new distraction every day so that we are unable to discuss the real issues of the people," the Wayanad MP told media persons.
Congress Lok Sabha MP from Chandigarh Manish Tewari said the defence minister should focus on strategic challenges "instead of twisting and turning history to suit his narrative".
Congress Lok Sabha MP from Saharanpur Imran Masood also questioned Singh's claim.
"I don't know why he is making such remarks. We only know of one historical document. If it concerns Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, they should have the document...," Masood told reporters.
"Nobody will accept it just because he says so. Yes, there is one document in which Sardar Patel took action to ban the RSS... All of this was done by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. His roadmap is the very path on which the country is progressing today. He also fostered scientific thinking," he said.
Other opposition parties also criticised the Defence Minister's remarks.
Samajwadi Party (SP) MP from Badaun, Dharmendra Yadav, said Singh should focus on defence issues.
"Rajnath Singh is a very experienced leader and India's defence minister, and he should focus on providing facilities and other conveniences to our armed forces and fighters... I believe the defence minister may not be fully aware of such matters. You know how the Bharatiya Janata Party presents historical facts, and I think the entire country understands this," he said.
TMC MP Kirti Azad and NCP(SP)'s Fauzia Khan also spoke on similar lines.
"Rajnath Singh is in a very responsible constitutional post serving as the Defence Minister. He is such a senior leader... it doesn't suit him. He should either present evidence of what he is saying or apologise and resign. It is shameful..." Azad said.
Khan, meanwhile, said, "I feel the topic is condemnable. The money that should be used for the Masjid should be earned honestly; there is no such thing as government funding, so why is it being discussed?"
Congress Lok Sabha MP from Katihar, Tariq Anwar, accused the BJP leader of "digging up old issues".
"Whether it is Rajnath Singh, the prime minister, or the entire BJP and NDA government, their only job seems to be digging up old issues, reviving past controversies, and raking up history.
"They keep talking about Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, but Nehru is not alive today to respond. They deliberately pull such topics out of the pages of history, knowing well that the person they are accusing is no longer present to answer for himself," he said.
VIDEO | Delhi: Congress leader Pawan Khera, on Rajnath Singh's 'Nehru wanted to build Babri mosque using public funds' remark, says, "I did not expect such comments from a Defence Minister... They don't have proof of it but we have proof that the 800 year old Jhandewalan temple… pic.twitter.com/Y7N9zYoXZX
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
