In what could trigger a fresh verbal duel between the BJP and the Congress over Sardar Patel, senior BJP leader lK Advani on Tuesday quoted from a book to claim that India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had described Patel as a ‘total communalist’ when, as the country’s Home Minister, he had favoured military action to rein in the defiant ruler of Hyderabad after Independence.
The BJP and the Congress are engaged in a political slugfest over Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to erect a 182-metre-high statue of Sardar Patel in his State. Modi had left the Congress fuming with his remark that Patel should have been the first Prime Minister, instead of Nehru.
Accusing Modi of trying to usurp Patel’s legacy, Congress hit out at him saying the legend would have never endorsed the Gujarat Chief Minister’s polarising figure. However, Advani gave a new twist to that debate on Tuesday with his blog wherein he referred to the extracts of a book — The Story of an Era Told without Ill Will — by civil servant MKK Nair.
Advani wrote that Patel believed that the Army should be sent to put an end to the Nizam’s wantonness, but Nehru did not support him and called him a “total communalist.”
“At about that time, the Nizam had sent an emissary to Pakistan and transferred a large sum of money from his Government account in london to Pakistan. At a Cabinet meeting, Patel had described these things and demanded that the Army be sent to end the terror-regime in Hyderabad. Nehru who usually spoke calmly, peacefully and with international etiquette, spoke losing his composure, ‘You are a total communalist. I will never accept your recommendation.’ Patel remained unperturbed but left the room with his papers,” Advani wrote, quoting from Nair’s book.
The BJP has, of late, been trying to project Sardar Patel as a leader close to the Hindutva ideology. On Patel’s 138th anniversary on October 31, Advani shared the stage with Modi to lay the foundation stone for the ‘Statue of Unity’ and had praised the Congress leader.
Modi said India needs Patel’s secularism which united people and not the “vote bank secularism” that is being practiced today. BJP has also alleged that Sardar Patel’s contribution was never hailed by the Congress and that it only eulogized the Nehru-Gandhi family. During the NDA’s regime, Advani was often referred as ‘lauh Purush’ - a name originally given to Patel. Similarly, Modi is described as ‘Chhote Sardar’ by his fans in Gujarat.
According to Nair’s book, Nehru wanted to take the Hyderabad issue to the UN, just as he did with the Kashmir issue. After Nehru set aside Patel’s advice that the Army should be sent in, then Governor-General Rajaji prevailed over the Prime Minister to send the Army to Hyderabad.
As the situation continued to worsen, Rajaji called Nehru and Patel to Rashtrapati Bhawan to discuss the issue. Meanwhile, the Army was kept battle-ready. During his meeting with Nehru and Patel, Rajaji used a letter from the British High Commissioner protesting against the rape of 70-year-old nuns of a convent two days earlier by Razakars of Hyderabad.
VP Menon, a bureaucrat and close aide of Patel, had given this letter to Rajaji before the meeting. “Rajaji in his typical style described the situation in Hyderabad. He felt that, to safeguard India’s reputation, a decision should not be delayed any longer. Nehru was concerned about international repercussions. Rajaji then played his trump card — the letter from the British High Commissioner.
“Nehru read it. His face turned red... Anger choked his words. He shot out of his chair, slammed his fist on the table and cried out, ‘let’s not waste a moment. We’ll teach them a lesson’. Rajaji immediately told Menon to inform the Commander in-Chief to proceed according to the plan,” Advani said, quoting from the book.