Sonia Gandhi Accuses BJP of Systematic Campaign to Erase Nehru's Legacy from Indian History

New Delhi:

The ruling establishment's primary objective today is to vilify Jawaharlal Nehru, according to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who criticized the BJP for allegedly attempting to erase the first prime minister from India's history.

The BJP responded by claiming that it was actually the Congress that underestimated Nehru's contribution, arguing they merely highlighted attempts to cover up his "mistakes" rather than disrespecting him.

During her address yesterday at an event launching the Nehru Centre India at Jawahar Bhawan, Gandhi alleged there is a systematic attempt to denigrate, distort, demean, and defame Nehru.

"The sole objective of this is to not only diminish him as a personality but also his universally recognised role in India's independence struggle and his early decades as a leader of an independent nation challenged by unprecedented problems, but it is also to demolish his multifaceted legacy in a crude and self-serving attempt to rewrite history," she stated, describing such attempts as "totally unacceptable."

She claimed those behind the project to diminish Nehru belong to an ideology that had no role in the freedom movement or the making of the constitution, and that fostered an atmosphere leading to Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.

"Let there be no doubt whatsoever that the project to vilify Jawaharlal Nehru is the main objective of the ruling establishment today. Their goal is not just to erase him; it is actually to destroy the social, political, and economic foundations on which our nation has been founded and built," added the Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson.

Gandhi remarked that Nehru continues to serve as a beacon of light for millions of India's citizens and acknowledged that it is inevitable for such a monumental figure to have his life and work analyzed and critiqued—which is as it should be.

She noted that there has become a widespread tendency to examine Nehru divorced from his historical context and the challenges he faced.

The BJP challenged Gandhi's views, suggesting that if she truly respected the former prime minister, she would have added the Nehru surname to her family line.

"It's time she stops crying wolf all the time. If she had great respect for Nehru, she would have added the surname of Nehru to the family line. They are the people who have underestimated Nehru's contributions. It's not the BJP or the current dispensation that is indulging in it," BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan told NDTV.

He alleged attempts to cover up Nehru's faults, from scams to the 1962 Sino-India war, emphasizing that making mistakes is only human.

"Human beings make mistakes. That has been highlighted earlier, there was an attempt to cover all that up. When that reality comes into the public domain, it has nothing to do with the dispensation but the historical realities. They must practice what they preach and add the Nehru surname to the family line. If they still prefer using the Gandhi surname over Nehru, then there is a problem somewhere," Vadakkan said.