Nehru hated Lord Somnath most, glorified Muslim invaders due to blind appeasement politics: BJP

New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on the Congress, alleging that while the Somnath temple was plundered by Mahmud of Ghazni and Alauddin Khilji in the past but in independent India, the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, hated Lord Somnath the most.

In a series of posts on X, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi alleged that Nehru did not want the rebuilding of Somnath temple after Independence due his blind appeasement politics in pursuance of which he did not refrain from even glorifying Mughal invaders.

Instead of countering Pakistani propaganda or defending India's civilisational memory, Nehru chose to "appease" Pakistan by downplaying historic symbols of Hindu and prioritised "external appeasement over internal self-confidence", the BJP Rajya Sabha MP charged, citing letters of the first prime minister.

"Somnath was plundered by Mahmud Ghazni and Khilji in the past, but in independent India, Pandit Nehru harbored the greatest hatred towards Lord Somnath," Trivedi said.

He said the most "striking example" of this is an letter by Pandit Nehru to the prime minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, on April 21, 1951.

Addressing Khan as "Dear Nawabzada," Nehru described the story of the Somnath temple gates as "completely false," the BJP leader alleged.

"Pandit Nehru, in a way, surrendered to Liaquat Ali Khan, writing that nothing like the reconstruction of the Somnath temple was taking place," he said.

"What exactly was Pandit Nehru's fear from Liaquat Ali Khan that he felt the need to write him a letter about the Somnath temple? What else was this if not blind appeasement politics and the glorification of Mughal invaders?" he asked.