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Cong hits back as MP minister tweets cigarettes were flown to Bhopal for Nehru
State minister Vishvas Kailash Sarang tweeted a screenshot from MP Raj Bhawan’s website saying Nehru’s favourite cigarettes were flown to Bhopal during one of his visits when the staff of the governor’s house where he was staying realised they were unavailable
The Congress on Wednesday hit out at state minister Vishvas Kailash Sarang after he tweeted a screenshot from Madhya Pradesh Raj Bhawan’s website saying Jawaharlal Nehru’s favourite cigarettes were flown to Bhopal during one of his visits to the state when the staff of the governor’s house where he was staying realised they were unavailable.
PC Sharma, a Congress lawmaker, reacted to Sarang’s tweet saying the minister should check the price tag of clothes Prime Minister Narendra Modi wears. “Everybody knows the rate of a suit worn by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a function in 2016. They should teach their leaders first about simplicity. BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] leaders left with no issue to attack Congress leaders are coming up with anecdotes.”
The screenshot Sarang tweeted read: “On a visit of Jawahar Lal Nehru to Bhopal, the Raj Bhavan staff realized that the favourite cigarette brand of Nehruji ‘555’ was not available in the Raj Bhavan. Nehruji used to have a cigarette after his meals. The staff immediately sent a plane to Indore for air-lifting Nehruji’s favourite pack, which was kept ready at Indore airport.”
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People aware of the matter said Hari Vinayak Pataskar, who served as Madhya Pradesh governor from 1957 to 1965, wrote this in his diary. Later, it was uploaded on the website.
A Raj Bhavan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said every governor has shared interesting stories and anecdotes after leaving the office. When Pataskar’s tenure ended, he handed over his dairy to Raj Bhavan officials in 1965, a year after Nehru passed away. It was unclear when were the contents of the diary uploaded to the Raj Bhawan website.
Sarang claimed Nehru, the country’s first Prime Minister, and the family of Congress leader and his great-grandson, Rahul Gandhi, have lived in luxury and did nothing for the people of India. “Their luxury and high standard of living can be understood with this [Pataskar] anecdote.”
