The Congress Saturday demanded an apology from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for his statement that former PM Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to use government funds to “build” Babri Masjid and the proposal was “opposed” by the then deputy PM Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Sharing screenshots of some pages of a book, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said on X: “Here is (Sardar Patel’s daughter) Maniben’s original diary entry in Gujarati on pages 212-213 in the book ‘Samarpit Padchhayo Sardarno’ by CA R S Patel ‘Aaresh’, published by Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society, 2025.”
“There is a huge difference between what is contained in original diary entry and what Rajnath Singh ji and his fellow ‘distorians’ are propagating,” Ramesh said, adding that the minister was spreading falsehoods to “improve his relationship” with PM Narendra Modi.
On December 2, in Vadodara’s Sadhli village, Singh said, “When Pandit Nehru raised the issue of spending money from the government treasury on the Babri Masjid, it was Sardar Patel, son of a Gujarati mother, who opposed it.”
The BJP had cited a book by Sardar Patel’s daughter to support Singh’s claims and said Nehru had also said he felt “repelled” by some temples in south India despite their beauty.
