Jaishankar, while citing a biography of VP Menon, said in his tweets that PM Nehru had omitted Vallabhbhai Patel from the initial Cabinet list.
New Delhi| External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, on Wednesday, said referring to a book that the first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru did not want Sardar Patel in his Cabinet in 1947.
He said he learnt about it from VP Menon’s autobiography.
A biography of VP Menon, a senior civil servant, who worked closely with India’s first Home Minister Sardar Patel and was a close aide to Patel, was written by Narayani Basu and Dr S Jaishankarhas released it.
Learnt from the book that Nehru did not want Patel in the Cabinet in 1947 and omitted him from the initial Cabinet list. Clearly, a subject for much debate. Noted that the author stood her ground on this revelation. pic.twitter.com/FelAMUZxFL
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 12, 2020
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To which Ramchandra Guha, a renowned author, an Indian historian and economist, responded by calling the claim a myth.
Some Foreign Ministers do read books. May be a good habit for some Professors too. In that case, strongly recommend the one I released yesterday. https://t.co/d2Iq4jafsR
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 13, 2020
Later Guha posted a snap of letter by Pandit Jawaharlal to Patel which proves the claims of the Biography and MEA minister S Jaishankar wrong.
The letter of 1 August where Nehru invites Patel to join the first Cabinet of free India, calling him the “strongest pillar” of that Cabinet. Can someone show this to @DrSJaishankar please? pic.twitter.com/N6m1mOr7SF
— Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) February 13, 2020
“It is equally inconceivable that a Congress member would have swallowed this rumour as did a bureaucrat like V.P. Menon. Patel was the strongest pillar not just of the cabinet but also of the party over which Nehru presided. There was no question of Nehru leaving him out. And, as Patel assured him, their partnership proved unbreakable.” wrote SRINATH RAGHAVAN, Professor of International Relations and History at Ashoka University.
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