Other posters will have Nehru's image: ICHR  New Delhi

Facing flak from Opposition parties for excluding Jawaharlal Nehru's image from a poster celebrating the 75th year of independence, the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) said the controversy over the issue is "unnecessary" as other posters being released in the coming days will feature the first prime minister.

"We are not trying to undermine anyone's role in the movement," a top ICHR official said, dismissing criticism on the issue, and added the poster was one of the many released as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.

The Congress, however, questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue and demanded that he rise above his prejudices and intervene.

Opposition parties had said the omission was deliberate. ICHR, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, has been running a series of lectures and seminars on the theme of the Independence struggle under the 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebration.

"This is only one of the posters released as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. There will be several others and Nehru will be featured in them... controversy around this is unnecessary," the ICHR official told PTI.