Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi triggered a social media storm with his remarks that the world did not know about Mahatma Gandhi until the 1982 movie Gandhi directed by Richard Attenborough came out, the Congress in Kerala hit back reminding the PM that Gandhi was the most popular leader in the world during his time.
PM Modi made the remarks in an interview to the channel ABP.
In a detailed post on X (formerly Twitter), the Congress state unit whose handle has been drawing a lot of social media attention said contrary to what Modi said, India is still known because of Gandhi and Nehru.
"Modi is back with a new deflection. He claims that the world heard about Mahatma Gandhi only after a movie was made about him in 1982. These are pictures of Mahatma Gandhi's visits to London, Switzerland, and Paris in the 1930s swarmed by crowds everywhere he went. He was the most popular leader in the world during his time. India is still known by Gandhi and Nehru..." the Congress Kerala handle posted.
The post was accompanied with photos of Gandhi's visits abroad.
Soon after @INCKerala put up the post, it went viral.
A slew of Congress leaders including senior leader Jairam Ramesh too came out against Modi for his remarks on Gandhi.
CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said it was "shocking to hear PM Modi's claim".
"Father of the Nation, Gandhi never needed anybody to promote his unparalleled legacy as a symbol of peace and non-violence! Before Modi was born Gandhi was nominated 5 times for the Nobel Peace prize! He was never awarded as India was a colony under Pax Brittanica!" he went on to add.
There were those who shared @samjawed65's twitter thread from 2022 as proof that Gandhiji was a world figure who made it to the front page of the New York Times with his salt march.
In the interview, PM Modi said Mahatma Gandhi was an eminent figure but the world was not aware of him before Attenborough made the movie that won costume designer Bhanu Athaiya an Oscar. She was the first Indian to win the honour. Attenborough too won an Oscar for best direction for the movie.
Modi had gone on to ask if it wasn't the nation's responsibility to ensure that Gandhi got global recognition?
