'Believed shrine revamp harmed India's image': BJP cites letters by Nehru to accuse him of 'hating' Somnath temple deity

NEW DELHI/ RAJKOT: Ahead of the launch of year-long "Somnath Swabhiman Parv" by PM Narendra Modi on Jan 11, BJP on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on Congress for its govt's opposition to the reconstruction of the revered temple and flagged letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru to accuse him of "hating" the deity.

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said Nehru believed the temple's reconstruction and association of Congress stalwarts like Rajendra Prasad, then President, harmed India's global image and said the opposition party continued to follow a similar distaste for the country's Hindu heritage.


At a press conference in Delhi, Trivedi said the first PM addressed his Pakistani counterpart Liaquat Ali Khan as "my dear nawabzada" to protest false reports in that country over the temple's construction instead of defending India's civilisational memory.

He also wrote to India's ambassador in China to play down its significance apparently to minimise any adverse reaction from Mao Zedong, the Rajya Sabha MP said, alleging that he pursued "blind appeasement politics by repeatedly emphasising his opposition to then President Rajendra Prasad's association with its inauguration. "Our opposition to Nehru is not personal but on principles. His letters underline how scary and dangerous his ideas were. We are not tarnishing his image. We are merely unmasking it as Congress continues to follow the same principle," BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said.

Modi will offer prayers at the temple and pay tributes at the statue of Sardar Patel outside its precincts. He is also scheduled to attend a roadshow and Shaurya Yatra, dedicated to those who laid down their lives defending the temple from invaders, and address a large public gathering.

"The year marks 1,000 years since Mahmud Ghazni's attack on the Somnath temple in 1026 AD, while also completing 75 years of Sardar Patel's historic resolve to rebuild the shrine. To mark this rare convergence, the festival has been planned to honour Somnath's legacy of resilience and valour," Gujarat minister Jitu Vaghani said. Highlighting the key attractions of the festival, the Gujarat minister said a mega drone show featuring 3,000 drones - the largest of its kind - will depict the history and grandeur of Somnath in the night sky.

Prime Minister Modi's visit on Jan 11, which marks 1,000 years of the temple's destruction by Mahmud Ghazni, and his projection of its revival as a tribute to India's cultural resilience coupled with Nehru's wariness of the revered temple's rebuilding have provided a fresh ballast to BJP's campaign to paint Congress as indifferent if not outrightly hostile to the country's Hindu heritage but being rather sensitive to interests of minorities, especially Muslims.

Nehru wrote over 17 letters to question the need for Somnath temple's reconstruction, including to the then president, vice president, cabinet ministers and chief ministers, and asked public broadcasters to minimise its coverage.

He said Nehru prioritised "external appeasement over internal self-confidence". "Somnath was plundered by Mahmud Ghazni and Khilji in the past, but in independent India, Pandit Nehru harboured the greatest hatred towards Lord Somnath," he alleged.


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