Gandhi Topi Row: Gujarat BJP Claims Mahatma Never Wore Cap Named After Him, Only Nehru Did

Gujarat BJP's new general secretary tweeted on Sunday asking why the cap is called "Gandhi Topi" when it was worn by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister, and not by Mahatma Gandhi himself.

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Updated: 07 Sep 2021 9:22 am

The eponymous 'Gandhi topi' (Gandhi cap) has led to a row in Gujarat where a BJP worker recently said that Mahatma Gandhi never wore the cap famously named after him but that it was Jawaharlal Nehru who wore it.

Ratnakar, who was recently appointed as the new organisational general secretary of the Gujarat BJP, tweeted on Sunday asking why the cap is called "Gandhi Topi" when it was worn by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister, and not by Mahatma Gandhi himself.

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— Ratnakar (@ratnakar273) September 5, 2021

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel also seconded Ratnakar and claimed that despite the cap's name, Mahatma Gandhi himself had never been seen wearing it.

"No one has ever found a photo in which Gandhiji can be seen wearing that Gandhi cap. Even I have never seen such a photo. Thus, what Ratnakarji said is true. Though the cap is known as 'Gandhi Topi', probably no one has ever seen a photo in which Gandhiji can be seen wearing a Gandhi cap," Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar.

He had shared a photo of Nehru wearing the cap juxtaposed with Gandhiji's photo without a cap.

Reacting sharply, Gujarat Congress said the people who never participated in the freedom struggle and sided with Britishers are now pointing fingers at freedom fighters and India's first Prime Minister.

"People who used to salute the British hat are passing such comments on freedom fighters and India's first PM after coming to Gandhi-Sardar's Gujarat. These people used to work for the Britishers and never participated in the freedom struggle. Same people are now desperate to change the history," said Gujarat Congress Spokesperson, Manish Doshi.

(With inputs from PTI)