After Rahul Says MK Gandhi Was ‘Thrown Out Of Train In UK’, BJP MP Quips ‘No One Should Learn History From Him’

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Lahar Singh Siroya on Saturday Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for inaccurately recounting a pivotal moment in Mahatma Gandhi’s life during a podcast-style conversation on YouTube. In the video, which was uploaded on Rahul Gandhi’s official YouTube channel, the Congress MP appeared to conflate historical facts while speaking about his political journey and family legacy.

Referring to Mahatma Gandhi’s fight against colonial rule, Rahul Gandhi said the freedom icon was “thrown out of a train in the UK”, an error that drew sharp criticism from Siroya.

“I watched this interview with curiosity because Rahul Gandhi was speaking about his great grandfather Pandit Nehru. However, I was very disappointed when I heard him say (at 2 mins 40 secs) that Mahatma Gandhi Ji was thrown out of the train in England,” Siroya wrote on X.

The BJP MP further said, “I recorded the video on my other phone so that they don’t edit it out to cover it up later. I have also captured the auto caption in YouTube, which reflects what Rahul Ji exactly says. Nobody should learn history from Rahul Ji. Even a person like me who is not highly educated knows Gandhi Ji was thrown out of the train in South Africa.”

I watched this interview with curiosity because @RahulGandhi was speaking about his great grandfather Pandit #Nehru. However, I was very disappointed when I heard him say (at 2 mins 40 secs) that Mahatma Gandhi Ji was thrown out of the train in England. I recorded the video on my… pic.twitter.com/XDrEGJ1Xqw

— Lahar Singh Siroya (@LaharSingh_MP) April 19, 2025

He also questioned why no one from the Congress, including Sandeep Dikshit — who was in conversation with Rahul Gandhi — or officials from The Nehru Centre, flagged the factual error before publishing the video.

Siroya pointed out that Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of a first-class train compartment on 7 June 1893 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, while travelling from Durban to Pretoria. This incident, which occurred during his time as a lawyer in South Africa’s Natal province, is widely recognised as a turning point in his life and the birth of his non-violent resistance philosophy, Satyagraha.

BJP MP Contests Rahul Gandhi’s Assertion On Nehru’s Protest

The BJP leader also took aim at Rahul Gandhi’s anecdote about his family’s reaction to the train incident. “Rahul Ji also says in the video that his great grandfather and his cousins went to Allahabad railway station to throw out some Britishers from first class compartments to avenge Gandhi Ji’s humiliation. In June 1893, when Gandhi Ji was thrown out of the train in South Africa, Nehru Ji was only 4 years old. Did a 4-year-old go to the railway station in Allahabad to protest?” he asked.

During the conversation, which featured Sandeep Dikshit, son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Rahul Gandhi reflected on the influence of his great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, saying, “He wasn’t just a politician. He was a seeker, a thinker, someone who walked into danger with a smile and came out stronger. His greatest legacy lies in his relentless pursuit of truth — a principle that shaped everything he stood for.”