New Delhi: Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asked the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) to remove the picture of the country’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru from the ‘Azadi Ke Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations. Taking sarcasm to him, said that how can the ‘Desh Ke Pyare Pandit Nehru’ be removed from the hearts of the people. Sharing many pictures related to Nehru’s life on Facebook, he said, ‘How will you remove the country’s beloved Pandit Nehru from the hearts of the people?’
Several Congress leaders shared on Twitter screenshots of photographs from the ‘Azadi Ke Amrit Mahotsav’ on the ICHR website, including those of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Bhagat Singh, Madan Mohan Malviya, and Veer Savarkar. But Nehru’s picture is missing.
There is no response from ICHR on this matter so far. The ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ is being celebrated to commemorate 75 years of the country’s independence. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh termed the ICHR move as ‘unscrupulous’.
Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said that no country will remove the picture of its first prime minister from a website mentioning the freedom struggle, but it was done here, which is very “frivolous” and “unjust”.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said that the ICHR has tarnished itself by removing the picture of Pandit Nehru. Party spokesperson Pawan Khera tweeted, ‘Will removing Nehru ji’s photo increase my stature? The dwarf will remain a dwarf.
