A political storm erupted on Monday after Congress MP Manickam Tagore sharply criticised Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for claiming that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru intended to use government funds to rebuild the Babri Masjid. Tagore dismissed the allegation as “a complete lie,” asserting that no historical records support such a claim.
In a strongly worded post on X, Tagore said, “There is absolutely zero archival or documentary evidence for this. Nehruji was clear: government money must not be spent on any religious place, regardless of faith.”
Tagore argued that Nehru’s principles of secular governance were well documented. He recalled that Nehru had categorically opposed using state funds even for the reconstruction of the Somnath Temple—one of India’s most revered pilgrimage sites—insisting that it be funded entirely through public donations.
Taking aim at Rajnath Singh’s remarks, Tagore questioned the logic behind such a claim: “If Nehru refused public funding for Somnath, why would he ever propose spending taxpayer money on Babri? This is nothing but an attempt to twist history.”
The Congress MP accused the Defence Minister of “political storytelling” intended to polarise people ahead of crucial elections. “These statements are not about history—they are about rewriting the past to divide the present,” he said, adding that the BJP’s strategy rests on “insulting India’s founders” and “manufacturing myths for political mileage.”
Tagore vowed that the Congress would continue defending the factual legacy of leaders like Nehru and Patel: “We will not allow their history to be distorted. The truth matters. History matters.”
Rajnath Singh made the controversial remarks at the ‘Sardar Sabha’ event in Vadodara, held to mark Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 150th birth anniversary. He said that Patel had strongly opposed using public funds for the Babri Masjid, and cited the Somnath Temple restoration as evidence of “true secularism,” claiming that the reconstruction was funded completely through public contributions.
