Systematic attempt to demolish Nehrus legacy: Sonia Gandhis blistering speech

New Delhi: Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday claimed that a "project” is underway to defame India’s first Prime Minister, in what she described as a crude attempt to rewrite history. Speaking at an event organised by the Nehru Centre India at Jawahar Bhawan in Delhi, the Congress MP alleged that the NDA-led government is not only attempting to erase Nehru but also to distort the very foundations on which the Indian nation was built.

Without naming the establishment, Gandhi asserted that the ruling party's primary objective is to vilify Nehru and spread misconceptions about him. Her remarks come days after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh claimed that Nehru wanted to use public funds to build the Babri Masjid, but was stopped by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Sonia Gandhi’s comments were made in this context. At Friday’s event, she said the forces behind this "project” against Nehru neither contributed to the freedom movement nor played any role in shaping the Constitution.

"It is an ideology that long ago fanned an atmosphere of hate, an atmosphere that ultimately led to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. His killers continue to be glorified by their adherents today. It is an ideology with a bigoted and viciously communal outlook. Its approach to nationhood is based on stoking prejudices of all kinds,” she said.

Gandhi emphasised that while it is natural for the life of a monumental figure like Nehru to be analysed and critiqued, a systematic attempt to "demolish his multifaceted legacy” in a "crude” and "self-serving” effort to rewrite history is unacceptable.

She added that it has now become common practice for the ruling government to "divorce Nehru from the challenges he faced and view him without historical context.” Before concluding, Gandhi noted that the road ahead would not be easy, but stressed that there was no choice but to stand up and confront this "project” against independent India’s first prime minister.