Quit India debate: Secularism, free speech in danger now, alleges Sonia

Sonia described contributions of Congress, Nehru towards Quit India movement in her Lok Sabha speech

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday made a veiled dig at the BJP-led government wondering whether the "forces of darkness" were trying to destroy the roots of democracy as "clouds of hate and division" were hovering over secular and egalitarian values.

She used her speech in the Lok Sabha during a special discussion on the Quit India movement to underline the contributions of the Congress and Jawaharlal Nehru to the landmark episode in India's struggle for independence and also attacked the ruling BJP, accused by her party of communalism.

"We will not allow the idea of India to be a prisoner to narrow mindedness and communal ideology. Today it looks secularism and free speech is in danger. If we have to preserve freedom, we'll have to defeat forces endangering it. We can't and we won't allow sectarian forces to succeed," she said.

People have to fight for the India they believe in, which is loved by one and all and which was envisioned by the freedom fighters, she said.

It should not be forgotten, she said, that there were people and organisations which had opposed the Quit India movement and made no contribution to the country's freedom.

Though she did not name any party or leader in her attack, Hindutva organisation RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP, appeared to be Gandhi's target, as the Congress has often accused it of playing no role in the freedom movement, a charge denied by it.