Great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi: SS Rajamouli’s father and ace writer Vijayendra Prasad who was nominated for Rajya Sabha by Government of India, landed in a controversy for his statements against Mahatma Gandhi in an old interview, sparking a debate among the historians.
In a video that is now going viral on social media, the RRR writer is seen saying that it was because of Gandhi that Sardar Vallabhai Patel did not become the Prime Minister of India.
He claimed that Gandhi wanted Jawahar Lal Nehru to be the PM despite many leaders from the Congress party voting for Patel. He went on to say that if Patel had been the PM of Independent India, the fate of Jammu & Kashmir would have been different now.
“There were 17 PCC’s (Pradesh Congress Committee) back then and the British while leaving India asked Gandhi to choose the PM. Gandhi asked those 17 PCCs to write the name of the person whom they want to operate in the PM capacity. 15 out of 17 PCCs have mentioned the name of Sardar Vallabhai Patel. Only one mentioned Nehru’s name and the other was blank. Despite these results, Gandhi chose Nehru as PM because of his alignment. This has resulted in the Kashmir debacle which we are enduring till now,” he said, while explaining the reason why Gandhi’s picture is opted out in the ‘Ethara Janda’ song (RRR).
However, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Tushar Gandhi, did not like the statement made by Vijayendra Prasad. Hitting back at the RRR director Gandhi tweeted, “A people who prefers to learn history from entertainers is doomed to remain a nation of ignoramuses.”
Many netizens disagreed with his statements and even schooled him by providing documented evidence that Patel never wanted to be the PM of India. Some even trolled Prasad and said that he’s speaking without knowing the history.