CHANDIGARH: Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh publicly questioned BJP national president Nitin Nabin at a Partition remembrance event in Gurugram on Friday over the exclusion of the local MP and legislators from the programme.
Singh, a six-time Lok Sabha member from Gurugram, raised the issue from the stage at the state-level Vibhajan Vibhishika Smriti Diwas programme at Maharana Pratap Swarn Jayanti Park in Sector 29.
He questioned why elected representatives from the constituency had not been invited to a programme held in their area, while people from Haryana and Rajasthan had attended.
“I want to ask the party president if they cannot invite the MP of the constituency where the programme is being held, is it right for him to come here?” Singh said.
He also asked whether an MP would have been excluded if the programme had been held elsewhere. “If this programme were in Panipat, would they not invite Sanjay Bhatia?” he asked. “If it were in Karnal, would they not invite Manohar Lal?”
The remarks put Nabin, who was the chief guest, in an uncomfortable position as Singh questioned the organisers’ decision.
Singh later said his name was not included in the initial invitation cards and was added only after Haryana BJP president Dr Archana Gupta intervened. He also said his name was missing from the list of speakers.
Singh said he walked out of the programme over protocol, seniority and respect for local representatives. “I have been facing this ignorance of protocol and seniority for a long time now,” he said.
Addressing the gathering, Nabin said more than 1.5 crore families were displaced and over 30 lakh people lost their lives during Partition. He blamed the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family for the division of the country for political power and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s observance of Partition Remembrance Day was aimed at helping the younger generation understand the tragedy.
He said the day was meant to remember those who lost their lives during Partition and the families who suffered displacement.
Nabin alleged that those who divided the country for political power had not changed their mindset and were now working to divide society. He also claimed that the Congress had never publicly apologised to families affected by Partition.
He said those who fought for Independence without seeking political power had a different approach and alleged that the spirit of service shown by RSS workers during that period had not been recognised.
Speaking about the younger generation, Nabin said India’s youth were now being recognised for startups, sporting achievements and other accomplishments.
“Today, the youth across the country are being recognised for startups and unicorns. Earlier, the youth of Jammu and Kashmir were discussed as “stone pelters”; today, the youth of that very Jammu and Kashmir are being discussed as Ranji Trophy winners. This is the identity of today’s young generation. Those who talk about Gen Z and Gen Alpha, what would they understand about this young generation? This is the generation that is winning medals for India today through Khelo India. Today’s Gen Z wants to live for India and wants to die for India. It is not going to follow anyone’s national political agenda,” he said.