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Prakash Javadekar ‘salutes’ freedom fighters for their struggle
The minister - who is responsible for the education portfolio - got his facts wrong. India’s first prime minister Nehru died of natural causes in 1964.
Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said he salutes all those leaders who participated in India’s freedom struggle.
Addressing a public meeting in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara , Javadekar said, “The fight for independence that began in 1857 ended 90 years later when we threw the British out. We salute freedom fighters…. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel, Pandit (Jawahar Lal Nehru), Bhagat Singh and Rajguru...all those who were hanged.”
The minister’s tribute came during the Tiranga Yatra launched to mark India’s 70th Independence Day. Several BJP leaders and lawmakers, carrying the Tricolour, or the Tiranga, have fanned out across the country in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to spread awareness about India’s freedom struggle and inculcate a feeling of nationalism.
(This story has been modified to reflect the minister’s statement.)
