New Delhi, Dec 6— Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday accused the BJP-led establishment of running a “systematic attempt” to distort and defame the legacy of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, saying the effort was driven by “a bigoted and viciously communal outlook”.
Speaking at the launch of the Nehru Centre India at Jawahar Bhawan, Gandhi said Nehru’s legacy was being targeted to undermine the foundations of modern India. “Let there be no doubt whatsoever that the project to vilify Jawaharlal Nehru is the main objective of the ruling establishment today,” she said. “Their goal is not just to erase him, it is to actually destroy the social, political and economic foundations on which our nation has been founded and built.”
She said criticism of Nehru was welcome, but not what she described as deliberate distortion. “While we welcome ongoing analysis of his contributions, what is not acceptable is the systematic attempt being made to denigrate, distort, demean and defame him,” she said. “Its sole objective is not only to diminish him as a personality and a leader of India’s independence struggle, but also to demolish his multifaceted legacy in a self-serving attempt to rewrite history.”
Gandhi linked these attempts to what she called ideologies that “had no role in our freedom movement” and were “totally against the Constitution”. She said such groups promoted hate and even glorified Mahatma Gandhi’s assassins. “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.
Urging citizens to resist these efforts, Gandhi said the responsibility to defend India’s values now rests with the public. “The road ahead is not easy,” she said. “But there is simply no option except to stand up and confront this project. We owe it to Nehru, to ourselves, and to the coming generations.”
