New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi launched a strong but veiled attack on the BJP-led government, saying a determined bid was being made to decimate the contribution of Jawaharlal Nehru, who was the epitome of secularism.
Addressing a gathering at the Talkatora stadium here to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of Nehru, Sonia Gandhi said there was an attempt not only to target the personality of Nehru, but also his ideology, vision, struggle and contribution.
Party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi also hit out at the Narendra Modi government, saying “the country was being ruled by angry people”.
Both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi used the occasion to galvanise the party, following its debacle in the Lok Sabha election and reverses in the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly polls. Without naming the Bharatiya Janata Party or its affiliates, Sonia Gandhi said there was a need to create a public movement to preserve the ethos of tolerance for which Nehru struggled all his life.
“We have to go with a resolve that we will fight those individuals, ideologies and institutions who want to destroy the edifice of liberal India given by Nehru. We have to go with a new resolve that we will give a new force to the legacy of Nehru in the present context,” Sonia Gandhi said.
She said if Nehru was present, he would have asked party workers to be united, strengthen the party organisation, go to people and connect with them on their issues and relate to their joys and sorrows. “He would not have hesitated to say that ‘fight communal forces on all sides, become brave secular soldiers to preserve the soul of India’. Are you ready to do all this?” Sonia Gandhi asked the party workers.
As part of its efforts to resurrect Nehru’s legacy and brighten its electoral fortunes, the Congress is organising a series of events including an international conference Nov 17-18.
The party has not invited Modi and the BJP for the event. IANS
