Jairam Ramesh (File photo
NEW DELHI: On the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared two historic letters from 1948, written by Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to Syama Prasad Mookerjee. The letters shared criticise the activities of Hindu Mahasabha and RSS. Ramesh took to social media platform X to share these pieces of history, alongside a link to Nehru’s radio address from the night of Gandhi’s assassination on January 30, 1948.
In his letter, Nehru had said, “Speeches were delivered that Mahatma Gandhi was an impediment and the sooner he died the better it would be for the country….The RSS has behaved in an even worse way and we have collected a mass of information about its very objectionable activities…” Ramesh’s social media post included screenshots of both letters. Ramesh called these letters “damning indictments of the self-declared custodians of nationalism.” “And to think that there is a Lok Sabha MP wedded to that ideology and who was blessed by the PM himself, who said that he could not choose between Gandhi and Godse. His mindset is revealing,” he added, apparently taking a dig at BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay’s controversial remarks in 2024, according to PTI. The timing of these letters was significant. Nehru wrote his letter just two days before Gandhi’s assassination. Patel’s letter came later, on July 18, 1948. Both leaders expressed strong criticism of the Hindu organisations’ activities during that crucial period in Indian history.Mahatma Gandhi was killed by Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948.