Nehru didn't want Rajendra Prasad as president: book

New Delhi, June 24: Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, lied to stop Rajendra Prasad from becoming the president after the country's independence, a new book claims. The book, written by former intelligence officer R.N.P. Singh, says: “Nehru had resorted to desperate measures to prevent Prasad from occupying the position of president and these measures included blatant lying.” The book, "Nehru: A Troubled Legacy", has been published by Wisdom Tree and includes letters written by Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and others. Singh quotes official records to reveal that on September 10, 1949, Nehru wrote to Rajendra Prasad that he (Nehru) and Sardar Patel had decided that "the safest and best course" would be to have C. Rajagopalachari as the first president of India.