Ridiculing the Narendra Modi dispensation for its efforts to undermine late Jawaharlal Nehru’s contribution to the country in the pre and post-Independence period, the Shiv Sena said on Sunday that it was ironical that the BJP-led NDA Government “is having fun” by selling the national assets created by India’s first Prime Minister.
In his weekly column “Roktok” published in the Shiv Sena’s official mouth-piece “Saamana”, Sena spokesperson and the newspaper’s Executive Editor Sanjay Raut said that while there was nothing wrong if the BJP-led Government at the Centre had differences with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, what had prompted the Modi dispensation to nurse such an animosity towards late Nehru.
“What has prompted the Modi Government to nurse such animosity against Nehru? On the contrary, this Government is selling the public undertakings created by the late Nehru. The Government is having fun selling the Assets created by late Nehru,” the Sena spokesperson said.
“Had Nehru not created national assets, then there would have been massive unemployment and anarchy arising out of hunger in the country. But, because of the long term vision of Nehru, the country is today saved from a major disaster. The current government should be indebted to late Prime Minister Nehru for life time. But, the current government has erased the name of late Nehru from the freedom struggle movement. The current Government is practising vindictive politics,” Raut said.
Raut made these comments while slamming the Government over the dropping of photos of India’s first PM Nehru and the country’s first education minister Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad from a promotional advertisement released by the Union Education Ministry’s Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) on the 75th year celebrations of India’s Independence. The advertisement has sparked a fierce debate across the county.
Raut also slammed the Modi Government for its vindictive action of renaming the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. “What is this Government is going to achieve by erasing the contribution of Pandit Nwehru and Indira Gandhi to the country’s freedom struggle and the country’s subsequent progress. These are all part of the country’s history,” Raut said.
Charging the ruling BJP with trying to re-write history, Raut said: “Only those who cannot create history consider it their bravado to erase the history of others. Those who kept far away from and never participated in the Freedom Struggle are now trying to keep out one of the heroes of the Independence Movement… This is not proper”.
Heaping praise on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin for showing large heart and displaying “love, magnanimity and respect” towards his political opponents, Raut said: “When he took over as CM, Stalin was confronted with the issue of 6.5 million schoolbags to be distributed free to students but had the photographs of the former CMs the late J. Jayalalitha and E. Palaniswamy who was voted out in May 2021”.
“When asked by his officials what to do with the bags, CM Stalin categorically said the scheme should not stop because of the photographs (Jayalalitha and Palaniswamy), and must be immediately disbursed to the children… He said the state would save Rs. 15 crore which can be used in the war against Coronavirus,” Raut said.
Raut said that this was the same Stalin --whose father late CM M. Karuranidhi) was dragged out of his home by Jalalalitha’s policemen at the middle of the night and arrested – had now adopted a cultured and mature approach towards political opponents by forgetting the “old hatred” in the state’s interest The Sena spokesperson said that “all political parties to take a lesson from Stalin’s conduct”.
Alluding to the “live and let live” approach adopted by late Nehru, Raut said: “In each era of history, great personalities are born. They bring in new ideas into society. He believed in the `live and let live’ approach. He wanted everyone in the country to adopt such an approach”.
“The large heartedness displayed by Stalin towards his political opponents reflects his culture and upbringing. Why do you have such an animosity towards late Nehru? You have to give a reply to the country,” the Sena spokesperson told the Modi government.