The Congress Party launched a sharp attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, accusing him of making “historically false” claims during his speech on election reforms in the Lok Sabha. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh cited historian and former MP Rajmohan Gandhi to counter Shah’s statement regarding Jawaharlal Nehru’s appointment as India’s first Prime Minister. Ramesh said Shah’s remarks were not only misleading but amounted to lying in Parliament.

Sharing a video of Rajmohan Gandhi on X, Ramesh said the historian had “exposed a blatant lie” spoken by the Home Minister. Rajmohan, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari, clarified the events of 1946 when the Congress was selecting its president. He explained that while several provincial committees proposed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s name, Gandhi advised Patel and Kripalani to withdraw, after which Jawaharlal Nehru was proposed and appointed Congress President.

In the video, Rajmohan Gandhi further clarified that being Congress President in 1946 naturally made Nehru the first choice to form the interim government. He added that proposals supporting Patel for the Congress presidency had been wrongly interpreted as support for making him the Prime Minister. He stressed that this confusion was historically inaccurate and not supported by documented evidence.

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The controversy erupted after Amit Shah, while intervening in the Lok Sabha debate on election reforms, accused Nehru of “vote chori” (vote theft). Shah claimed that 28 votes had been cast in favour of Patel and only two for Nehru, yet Nehru ended up as Prime Minister. His remarks triggered uproar from the Opposition, with Congress leaders calling the statement fabricated and politically motivated.

Reacting strongly, the Congress said the Home Minister’s assertions were a “lie” and a “figment of imagination.” Party leaders argued that Shah had deliberately distorted historical facts to target Nehru and rewrite political history for partisan gains. They urged the government to maintain dignity in parliamentary debate and refrain from spreading misinformation.

Rajmohan Gandhi’s intervention has now added fresh weight to the Congress’ counterattack, as it challenges the Home Minister’s claims with first-hand historical insight. The dispute has fuelled a new round of political confrontation, with both sides using history to strengthen their arguments. As the debate intensifies, the issue has once again brought the legacy of India’s founding leaders into the heart of today’s political battles.

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