"Why Do You Hate Nehru So Much": Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut Asks Centre

In his weekly column, Sanjay Raut said the ICHR has excluded the pictures of Nehru and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad from its poster, and alleged it was an act of "political vindictiveness".

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the exclusion of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's picture from a poster released by a body of the Union Education Ministry to mark the 75th year of India's independence shows the Centre's "narrow mindset", and asked the Union government why it "hates" Nehru so much. Mr Raut, in his weekly column 'Rokhthok' in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana, said the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, has excluded the pictures of Nehru and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad from its poster, and alleged that it was an act of "political vindictiveness". "Those who had no participation in the freedom struggle and creating history are keeping out one of the heroes of the independence struggle. This act, done out of political vindictiveness, is not good and shows their narrow mindset. It is an insult of each and every freedom fighter," Mr Raut claimed. One can have differences over Nehru's policies after independence, but no one can deny his contribution to the freedom struggle, said the Rajya Sabha member, who is the executive editor of Saamana.