The Congress top leadership on Wednesday unleashed a sharp attack on the BJP claiming that the ruling party at the Centre is trying to appropriate the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi while killing Bapu’s very ideals and principles on which the foundation of India as a nation was built.
Leading a padyatra on the occasion of 150 years celebration of Mahatma Gandhi, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said only the Congress has followed the path of Gandhi and has provided jobs, education and facilities to farmers, accomplishments which are unparalleled, no matter what others might claim.
She questioned “those” who consider themselves supreme and indulge in the politics of falsehood cannot understand Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals of truth, self rule and selfless service.
“How can those who can do anything for power understand that Gandhiji was a worshipper of non-violence? How can those thirsty for power understand the meaning of Gandhiji’s Swaraj? Those who claim to be supreme at the first opportunity, how can they understand the value of selfless service of Gandhiji?” Sonia asked while attacking BJP, RSS and the NDA Government.
Sonia also participated in the oath that Congress workers took to achieve the India of ‘Bapu’s’ dreams by keeping faith in constitutional values. “Gandhiji’s soul would be saddened by seeing the condition of India in the last four-five years,” the Congress president said while attacking the current BJP dispensation.
Several top Congress leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, were among those who paid floral tributes to the Father of the Nation.
The party has planned a week-long programme that will mark the culmination of the year-long celebrations commemorating Gandhi’s memory and it will re-emphasise his values.
Terming it a historic, pious and auspicious day, the Congress chief described Gandhi as a “great personality” who inspired not only India but the entire world to adopt the path of non violence and ‘satyagraha’. She said all are proud that India has attained its present status following the path shown by the Mahatma, noting that it is easy to cite Gandhi’s name but difficult to follow the path shown by him.
“Despite all this, if India has not been distracted it is because its foundation is laid on the values of Gandhiji. India and Gandhiji are synonymous with each other. It is a different thing that some people are adamant on reversing this. They want the RSS and not Gandhiji to become the symbol of India. I want to tell them clearly... There cannot be any thought except Gandhiji’s all-inclusive system, that includes the composite culture, civilisation and society of India,” said Sonia.
While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led a march of party workers from the Delhi Congress office to Rajghat, other leaders including Priyanka Gandhi did the same in their respective States.
In Lucknow, taking a swipe at the BJP, Priyanka Gandhi said BJP should first pursue the path of truth shown by Mahatma Gandhi and then talk about him.
She made the remarks before participating in a silent march organised here by the Congress on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
“It was the order of Gandhiji to pursue the path of truth. First, the BJP should pursue the path of truth and then talk about Gandhiji,” the Congress leader said.
The silent march is also being viewed as a show of strength by the Congress which has been on the sidelines of state politics for a long time.
Sonia Gandhi said the Mahatma wanted India and its villages to be self-reliant. The Congress after independence followed this path and took revolutionary steps in this regard. Be it Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao or Manmohan Singh, all struggled to build a new India and establish new paradigms of progress, the Congress leader said.
“I want to tell those who decide the country’s destiny that Gandhiji is a symbol of love not hatred, he is a symbol of harmony not confrontation, he is a symbol of democracy and not autocracy. No matter what others claim, the Congress is the only party that has followed the principles of Gandhiji and will continue to do so,” she said.