The Congress has hit back at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh after he accused former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru of seeking public funds to rebuild the Babri Masjid.
Congress hits back at Rajnath: ‘No evidence Nehru wanted Babri funds’
MP Manickram Tagore says there is zero arhival evidence for such claims
Days before the 33rd anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India’s political circles got heated up after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh targeted India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, alleging that the latter sought funds to (re)build the Babri Masjid, a plan which was thwarted by his deputy and India’s first home minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The Opposition Congress hit back, saying there was no "archival or documentary evidence".
The mosque, a 16th-century structure built by Mughal Emperor Babur, was brought down by right-wing activists on December 6, 1992, marking a new chapter in the annals of India's political history. Later, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi built a temple dedicated to Hindu God Ram in the place of the fallen mosque.
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The minister’s claim came on Tuesday (December 2) as he addressed a ‘Unity March’ in Gujarat to commemorate Sardar Patel’s 150th birth anniversary.
The defence minister said in Vadodara in Hindi, “Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to (re-)build the Babri Masjid (in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya) using public funds. If anyone opposed this proposal, it was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, born to a Gujarati mother. He did not allow the Babri Masjid to be built using public funds.”
#WATCH | Gujarat: Defence minister Rajnath Singh addressed the 'Sardar Sabha' in Vadodara.
— ANI (@ANI) December 3, 2025
He said, "Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was truly secular... When Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru spoke about spending government funds on the Babri Masjid issue, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel opposed it. At… pic.twitter.com/KtRqbmkIzH
Singh also said that when the former prime minister raised the issue of restoring the Somnath Temple in Gujarat, Patel said the temple was a different case as Rs 30 lakh required for its facelift had been donated by commoners.
“A trust had been established, and not a single penny of the government's money had been spent on this (Somnath temple) work. Similarly, the government didn’t give a single rupee to construct the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The entire cost was borne by the people of the country. This is called real secularism,” Singh said.
Zero archival evidence: Congress MP
The Congress came up with a sharp rebuttal with its MP from Tamil Nadu, Manickram Tagore, saying in a post on X on Wednesday (December 3) that there was “zero archival or documentary evidence to support” such a claim.
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“Nehruji explicitly opposed using government money for religious places - including the reconstruction of temples. He insisted it should be funded through public contributions, not the state,” said the Virudhunagar MP.
Defence Minister @rajnathsingh claims Nehruji wanted to rebuild Babri Masjid with public funds and that Sardar Patel stopped him.
— Manickam Tagore .B🇮🇳மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) December 3, 2025
This is a lie.
There is zero archival or documentary evidence to support it.
Nehruji explicitly opposed using government money for religious… https://t.co/j4diuPTwHY
“If Nehruji refused public funds even for Somnath (a famous temple in Gujarat) - a symbol revered by millions - why would he propose spending taxpayer money on Babri?” Tagore asked.
Tagore took on Singh, saying the latter’s statements were more about politics than history, and they sought to rewrite the past to divide the present. The Congress leader said the Bharatiya Janata Party’s strategy is to insult the founders of the country, tell lies and encourage polarisation.
He also countered the defence minister’s accusation that Nehru tried to erase Sardar Patel’s legacy after he passed away in 1950. The BJP leader claimed the former prime minister wanted funds that people collected to build a memorial for the ‘Iron Man’ after his death, for building roads and wells in the village. Tagore said the two late leaders (Nehru passed away in 1964) shared a cordial relationship and that the former PM’s belief was simple: not spending public money on religious places.
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Singh also alleged that Nehru became president of the Congress in 1946 after Patel withdrew his nomination at Mahatma Gandhi's advice.