who was the congress president when india attained independence
J. B. Kripalani In spite of being ideologically at odds with both the right-wing[citation needed] Vallabhbhai Patel and the left-wing Jawaharlal Nehru â€“ he was elected Congress President for the crucial years around Indian independence in 1947. After Gandhi's assassination in January 1948, Nehru rejected his demand that the party's views should be sought in all decisions. Nehru, with the support of Patel, told Kripalani that while the party was entitled to lay down the broad principles and guidelines, it could not be granted a say in the government's day-to-day affairs. This precedent became central to the relationship between government and ruling party in subsequent decades.