Counter BJP with facts: Kharge to Congress workers

New Delhi, November 14

Accusing PM Narendra Modi and the BJP of “distorting” facts, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday asked Congress workers to expose the saffron party by confronting its propaganda with facts.

Speaking at an AICC event on the birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Kharge said PM Modi and the BJP often tried to give the impression that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were not given their due by the Congress because Nehru feared competition.

Quoting letters by the duo to Nehru, Kharge said both Patel and Bose shared a warm relationship with Nehru. “While these leaders may have differed on several issues, they had high regard for one another,” Kharge said. “Patel was a Congressman. If PM Modi truly admires him, as he claims, he should embrace his political ideas,” he remarked. Warning the workers on BJP’s propaganda machine, Kharge said if Congress members hesitated to tell people the truth, the next generation would not know the Congress’contribution in various fields.

Underscoring the importance of “prachar”, the Congress chief said the role played by Indira Gandhi in Bangladesh’s liberation, Nehru’s policy of non-alignment and creation of world-class institutions such as IITs and IIMs were some of the major achievements of Congress governments.

Questioning the BJP criticism of Nehru’s Kashmir policy, Kharge said Syama Prasad Mukherjee, founder of the Jana Sangh, was a minister in the Nehru government when the Kashmir policy was given shape.

“Why did not Mukherjee resign then,” asked Kharge, adding that it was none other than Sardar Patel himself, who had piloted Article 370, according special status to Kashmir. Kharge’s speech was preceded by a lectutre on the relevance of Nehru in the 21st century by academician Purushottam Agarwal. He said Nehru was rooted in Indian culture and was

well-versed in the Vedas