Modi govt and Congress hold competing events to mark Nehru's 125th birthday

The Congress tried hard to stave off BJP and Modi's attempts at appropriating Nehru and his legacy

Competing celebrations by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre and the Sonia Gandhi-led Congress party marked the 125th birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, currently in Australia to attend the G20 countries meet, led his Cabinet colleagues in paying rich tribute to Nehru. In Delhi, eight ministers in the government attended events linked to Nehru one way or the other.

The Congress tried hard to stave off BJP and Modi’s moves at appropriating Nehru and his legacy. Congress state units marked the day in various ways.

The Congress didn’t invite either the Prime Minister or any National Democratic Alliance ministers to any of its events, to which BJP called the Congress “petty”. Justifying its stance, Congress spokesperson Salman Khurshid said, “The Smarn Utsav for Nehru’s 125th birth anniversary is a celebration of great nobility and those we have invited, we believe, will add colour to the celebrations.” Responding to why the PM was not invited, he said, “We are not conducting any pathshala. Only people who understand his ideology have been invited, those who have not been should introspect why they have been left out.”

At Nehru’s cremation-cum-memorial site in this city, Shanti Van, the Congress brass — Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and ex-Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, among others  — paid floral tribute at a ceremony in the morning. None from the government was present at the time.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi launched a National Bal Swachhata Mission. This is an extension of the cleanliness programme Modi launched on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 125th birth anniversary celebrations at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

“Nehruji belongs to the country and not to any particular political party,” replied Maneka Gandhi, widow of Nehru's grandson, Sanjay, when asked about the Congress' non-invitation to the PM.

The BJP manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections had omitted mention of Nehru’s contribution to either the freedom struggle or in building the republic. “The Indian freedom struggle, which was inspired by Tilak, Gandhi, Aurobindo, Patel, Bose and others, had a clear vision of the civilizational consciousness of India,” the foreword of the manifesto had stated.

It then went on to accuse “the leaders at the helm of affairs” immediately after independence of having “lost the spirit and the vision, which the freedom movement had evoked” and called it “unfortunate” that these leaders adopted the administration created by the British. All these were clear references to Nehru.