BJP claims Nehru felt 'repelled' by some South Indian temples, cites book to back Rajnath

The BJP on Wednesday cited a book by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter to double down on Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's claims about Jawaharlal Nehru and the Babri mosque, and said the first prime minister had also said he felt "repelled" by some of the temples in South India despite their beauty.

This came after Congress termed as "a lie" and "WhatsApp university story" Singh's claim that India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to build the Babri mosque using public funds, and said the defence minister should not walk in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's path.

Addressing a gathering at Sadhli village in Gujarat's Vadodara district on Tuesday, Singh had said Nehru wanted to build the Babri masjid using public funds, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel didn't allow his plans to succeed.

"The source of what Rajnath Singh said is the 'Inside Story of Sardar Patel, Diary of Maniben Patel'," BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said at a press conference at the party headquarters while responding to media queries on the issue.

He said that on page 24 of the book, it is written that Nehru also raised the question of the Babri mosque, but Sardar Patel made it clear that the government could not spend any money on building a mosque.

"He told Nehru that the question of reconstruction of the Somnath temple was quite different, as the Trust has been created for the purpose and about Rs 30 lakh has been collected. Patel told Nehru that it was a trust of which Jam Saheb was the chairman, and Munshi was just a member, and no government money was going to be used for the purpose. This silenced Nehru," Trivedi read out from the book.

The BJP leader slammed Congress leaders over their reactions to Singh's remarks about Nehru and said people in the opposition party should "think carefully" before feeding their leaders on various topics.

"They should also tell them that attempts were made to stop the then President of India Dr Rajendra Prasad from attending an event organised to inaugurate the Somnath temple, but he attended," he said.

During the inauguration of the Somnath temple, Nehru wrote to Jam Saheb, suggesting that he should not attend the event, Trivedi said, quoting from 'Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru Series 2'.

The BJP leader further claimed that Nehru, while addressing an event in Delhi in 1959, had said that he felt "repelled" by some of the temples in South India despite their beauty.

"Some of the temples of South India, however, repel me in spite of beauty. I just can't stand it. Why, I do not know, cannot explain that. But they are oppressive. They suppress my spirit. They do not allow me to rise and keep me down in the dark corridors. I like the sun and air," he quoted Nehru as saying in the event.

In contrast, Nehru found the Taj Mahal "astoundingly beautiful", the BJP leader quipped. "We are not making any effort to dig the graves from history. But the Congress must get the DNA of its graves checked. I am not seeking to insult anybody here. The reference to the term DNA here means political DNA," he charged.