The birth anniversary of former President Dr Rajendra Prasad sparked a word of words between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress on Wednesday.
Sharing excerpts from an interview given by Dr Prasad’s granddaughter Dr Tara Sinha, and shared with him by his great-granddaughter Dr Sujata Mitra, BJP national spokesperson Tuhin Sinha targeted the Congress party and India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
The BJP leader said that Dr Tara revealed how Pandit Nehru allegedly opposed Dr Rajendra Prasad becoming the President of India and his re-election. “In 1950, when he was chosen as interim President (and later for the first full term), Nehru was openly opposed to him. Pressure was even exerted on Rajendra Babu to make him write a letter stating that he would not contest the election,” Sinha posted on X.
Citing the former president’s granddaughter, Sinha also claimed that Nehru was against Dr Rajendra Prasad attending the Pran Pratishtha (consecration) ceremony of the Somnath Temple.
“He formally raised an objection in writing, asking why the President of a ‘secular state’ should attend such a programme. Nehru saw it in terms of ‘Hindu revivalism’. Yet Dr. Rajendra Prasad stood firm. His position was: ‘I visit churches, I visit mosques, I visit gurdwaras. Going to Somnath is no exception. There is no justification for this objection’,” The BJP leader further posted, citing the interview conversation.
He said Dr Tara also shared that in 1961, when Dr Prasad was seriously ill, Nehru even raised objections to the possible location of his samadhi (memorial), next to Raj Ghat.
Today, on the birth anniversary of India’s first President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, I am sharing some important excerpts from an interview given by his granddaughter Dr. Tara Sinha, which was sent to me by his great-granddaughter Dr. Sujata Mitra.
In this conversation, Dr Tara… pic.x.com/HHBy9tXJpS
— Tuhin A. Sinha तुहिन सिन्हा (@tuhins) December 3, 2025
“When Dr. Rajendra Prasad fell seriously ill, Nehru’s greatest worry was that he might pass away in Delhi—because if that happened, his samadhi (memorial) would have to be built right next to Mahatma Gandhi’s Raj Ghat, and Nehru absolutely did not want that. Therefore, officials were instructed to select a location far from Delhi where his last rites could be performed. The site that was eventually chosen later became the place where Lal Bahadur Shastri’s last rites were also performed—today’s Vijay Ghat.”
Slamming the Nehru-Gandhi family, the BJP leader said, “It is painful to hear these facts, but it is necessary to share them because the sense of entitlement that we see in the Gandhi family today had its beginnings in the Nehru era itself, and the Congress party has repeatedly insulted our constitutional positions and institutions.”
His remarks prompted a sharp reaction from the Congress party. Speaking exclusively to news agency UNI, Congress media department chairman Pawan Khera said that the BJP has an illness to distort history.
“The BJP has an illness; the BJP is in government. To hide its failures and to escape questions, the BJP twists and distorts history so that controversies can be created. We do not want to get involved in such controversies,” Khera told UNI.
He added, “The country knows everything, everyone knows everything. Everyone knows that those leaders were tall leaders.”
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a narrow mindset, he is physically short as well. The stature of a tall leader cannot be reduced. No matter how much a small person tries, his stature cannot increase,” he added.