The Congress on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of suffering from deep insecurities and complexes, saying that this leads him to “viciously” attack Jawaharlal Nehru. A day after Modi’s criticism of former Prime Ministers Nehru and Indira Gandhi, the Congress pointed out that BJP veterans Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani never engaged in such behaviour. By doing so, Prime Minister Modi is seen as “demeaning” the high office he holds, according to the party. Additionally, the party shared certain audio recordings of Nehru to counter the current regime’s repeated attacks on the Nehru-Gandhi legacy, questioning some decisions made during their tenures.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed regret over how a Prime Minister, referring to Narendra Modi, continues to attack his predecessors, particularly Nehru, who laid the foundation of modern India. “It has become a habit of the BJP and its leaders, including Modi, to constantly attack Congress and leaders like Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and the present lot who have sacrificed for the sake of nation-building. Here, I would like to ask Modi to name one person from his party or ideological background who has dedicated their life to the country. No one,” Kharge said.
Meanwhile, Congress chief spokesman Jairam Ramesh said that the Prime Minister was at his nonsensical worst in the Lok Sabha, and undoubtedly, this was a repeat performance in the Rajya Sabha. Another party leader and granddaughter of Nehru, Priyanka Gandhi, also accused Modi of “misrepresenting” lines from a speech by Jawaharlal Nehru. She said, “Not only is this shameful, but it also reflects the bitterness in the minds of the BJP towards the freedom movement and historical struggles for nation-building.”
Ramesh said that Modi suffers from deep insecurities and complexes, which lead him to attack Nehru not politically, but personally and in a vicious manner. “Vajpayee and Advani never did this. But Mr Modi, being who he is, thinks he is being clever but actually demeans the office he holds. Megalomania and Nehruphobia are a toxic mix that is leading to the murder of democracy in India,” the Congress leader also said.
Priyanka questioned the authenticity of Prime Minister Modi’s allegations against Pandit Nehru.
“Is there any truth in this? Before jumping to conclusions, one should read and listen to that speech of Nehru,” she said, sharing the audio recording of the speech along with the Hindi quote from it.
“Did Pandit Nehru, the guardian of India’s consciousness, consider Indians lazy? Yesterday, in the temple of democracy, Parliament, Prime Minister Modi made this very allegation against Pandit Nehru. Is there any truth in this?”
“Our people, forgetting to trust themselves, think that others will help them. Our village people are strong and noble. It has become a habit that instead of taking matters into their own hands, they rely on officers and the government... Communities don’t progress with the help of officers; they progress through their own strength. The only yardstick to measure progress is how 40 crore people of India move forward. The community grows through its hard work,” Nehru is heard saying in the audio recording. “Look at the countries that are happy and prosperous. How did they become prosperous? Through hard work.”
“Whether it’s European nations, American countries, or prosperous Asian nations, it is hard work and unity that underpins their prosperity. Without these attributes, progress cannot be made... In our India, the habit of working very hard has generally not been developed. It is not our fault; habits are formed due to circumstances,” Nehru had said.
“But the truth is that we do not work as hard as Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, or Americans. Don’t think that they became prosperous through magic; they achieved prosperity through hard work and intelligence... We can also progress with hard work and intelligence; there is no other way,” India’s first prime minister said.
In a social media post, Priyanka Gandhi said that after independence, crores of people faced the challenge of filling their empty stomachs, and the slavery, plunder, and exploitation by the British had hollowed out the country.
“Not only is it shameful to misrepresent a few lines from the speech of the country’s first Prime Minister, but it also demonstrates the extent of bitterness filled in the minds of Prime Minister Modi ji, the BJP, and the RSS towards our freedom movement and historical struggles for nation-building,” the Congress general secretary said.
Quoting from an Independence Day speech by Nehru from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi said, “Nehru had said, ‘we do not work as hard as the Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, or the Americans. Do not think that these communities became prosperous by some magic. They have achieved this through hard work and intelligence.’”
“He (Nehru) is giving a certificate to those people to belittle Indians. This shows that Nehru ji’s thinking about Indians was that they are lazy and of low intelligence. He did not trust their potential,” the prime minister had said. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi did not think differently either, Modi had said.
