‘Nehru An Accidental PM, Ambedkar Or Patel Were More Deserving,’ Says Khattar

Senior BJP leader Manohar Lal Khattar called Jawahar Lal Nehru's appointment as the Prime Minister of India "accidental".

Rohtak:Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said that Jawahar Lal Nehru became India's first prime minister "by accident," and that BR Ambedkar or Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel were more deserving of the post. While addressing a gathering at Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak, Haryana, Khattar said that the Congress has always disrespected BR Ambedkar.

"I want to say that Pandit JL Nehru became a prime minister by accident. In his place, someone who deserved it (to become India's first PM) was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr BR Ambedkar," said Khattar.

Retaliating to the comments made by Union Minister Khattar, Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that Khattar himself was an accidental Chief Minister. "He himself became an accidental chief minister and that's why he is talking like this," Hooda said.

The statement came weeks after former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh died at the age of 92. Following his death, a row ensued over creating a memorial at the cremation site, as has been the practice for all former prime ministers. The BJP in October last year registered a thumping victory in the Haryana Assembly polls, as Nayab Singh Saini assumed the chief ministerial post.

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