Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said it was because of institutes created by Nehru that a ‘chaiwala’ can become PM
On Wednesday, the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress engaged in a war of words, with BJP saying Congress can't look beyond the contribution of one family to the country, and the latter hitting back at the saffron party.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor credited institutional structures created by Nehru for instituting democracy in a way in which a "chaiwala like Narendra Modi" could become prime minister. Tharoor was speaking at the launch of the new edition of his 2003 book Nehru: The Invention of India on Tuesday.
At the same function, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi als took a dig at the BJP, and said that those in power have a contempt for nehruvian ideals. "Nehru's precious legacy is being undermined daily by those who rule us today. They express disdain and contempt for Nehru for all that he did to build the India that they are bent upon changing for the worse," she said.
In a response to these barbs, Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar said the Congress can't think beyond one family. "If democracy is thriving in India, it's because of the Constitution. It was the Constituent Assembly headed by Babasaheb Ambedkar and having many other eminent people which laid the foundation of democracy," Javadekar said.
The parties are also embroiled in a controversy over the museum of prime ministers at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, housed at Teen Murti Bhavan in New Delhi. The museum, originally envisaged in memory of the first prime minister of India, has now been restructured by the Modi government to be in memory of all prime ministers.
Reacting on the controversy, Javadekar said the BJP is not undermining Nehru's legacy. "We are making memorials of all prime ministers in the complex where Nehru lived. This is to pay tribute to everybody. It is not undermining. All prime ministers have contributed to this country. But that goes beyond one family and that is why the Congress is upset," he said.
THEY SAID IT
- Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said it was because of institutes created by Nehru that a ‘chaiwala’ can become PM
- BJP responded to it saying the Congress can’t look beyond one family.
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