Priyanka Gandhi Vadra; Rajnath Singh
NEW DELHI: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday dismissed defence minister Rajnath Singh’s “Nehru–Babri Masjid” remark as a “distraction” from the issues that matter.“These are all distractions. There are many real issues that need discussion. They create a new distraction every day so that we are unable to talk about the people’s concerns,” she told reporters outside Parliament. Her brother, and Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, declined to comment, saying reporters were “wasting their time” by asking him for a reaction. The siblings are great-grandchildren of Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister.Addressing the ‘Sardar Sabha’ in Vadodara, Gujarat, on Tuesday, Rajnath Singh alleged that Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to use government funds to build the Babri Masjid. He added that it was then-home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who opposed the plan, and described Patel as “truly secular.”“Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was truly secular. He never believed in appeasement. When Jawaharlal Nehru spoke about spending government funds on the Babri Masjid issue, it was Patel, a son of Gujarat, who opposed it. He did not allow the Babri Masjid to be built with government money,” the senior BJP leader remarked. He added, “Nehru raised the question of reconstructing the Somnath Temple. Patel clarified that the Somnath case was different: the public had donated Rs 30 lakh, a trust had been formed, and not a single rupee of government money was used,” referring to the temple’s reconstruction in Veraval, Gujarat.Singh’s remarks came ahead of December 6, marking the 33rd anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.In November 2019, a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous verdict paving the way for the construction of Lord’s Ram temple in the city.The temple was inaugurated on January 22, 2024.
