"I'm a die-hard fan of Gandhi and upset since Trump termed PM Modi father of the nation": Congress leader

Rajasthan Congress secretary Suresh Mishra on Monday sent a personal notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the US President Donald Trump's recent reference to him as the father of India is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi.

"I am a die-hard fan of Gandhi and am upset since the day Trump termed Modi as father of the nation. At a time when the world is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Gandhi, Trump's calling Modi as father of the nation is definitely wrong," Mr Mishra said in the notice.

"You are holding supreme post and have been calling yourself as Pradhan Sevak. At this point, do you agree with Donald Trump and do you consider yourself as father of the nation?," Mr Mishra asked.

He said that Rabindranath Tagore mentioned Mahatma Gandhi as father of the nation on April 12, 1919.

Subhash Chandra Bose referred him as father of the nation on July 6, 1944 on Singapore Radio seeking blessings from him to win the war for India's independence. In 1947, Sarojini Naidu referred him as Rashtrapita on April 28, 1947 at a conference.

On Mahatma Gandhi's death, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in his message to the nation had said, "we have lost the father of our nation."

"Were all these leaders wrong in terming Gandhi as the father of the nation or is Trump wrong," Mr Mishra questioned.

Mr Mishra in his notice to PM Modi urged him to strongly deny Donald Trump's statement on the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.