Cong attacks vice prez over 'distortions' in history books remarks

The Congress on Thursday slammed Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu over his remarks on "distortions" in history books, asking him to remain impartial and not subservient to the "BJP's agenda" of rewriting history.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said Naidu's statement was unfortunate and a "great disservice to the country".

At an award function in Pune on Thursday, Naidu said there is a need to "correct" Indian history, distorted by colonial rulers.

"We hold him in great esteem and respect, but with due respect, it is a great disservice, his statement is a great disservice to this nation and it is an extremely unfortunate," Surjewala told reporters.

"As the vice president of India, he has to be impartial and not be subservient to the agenda of BJP of rewriting history and the Constitution," he said.

Speaking at the Punyabhushan award presentation ceremony, Naidu asked historians, archaeologists, linguists and other scholars in the country to unite in order to re-create India's "real" history before the world.

"There are many great names like Shivaji Maharaj, Shankaracharya, Rani Lakshmibai and more, whose contributions are not much heard of. We need to re-discover ourselves and present the real history of India to the world," Naidu said.