The slanging match between the Congress and the BJP continued on Sunday as Congress president Sonia Gandhi said that some people in the Opposition didn’t stop short of criticising India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and even the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi, who laid the foundations for modern India.
Sonia was addressing a rally at East Delhi. “I want to ask the senior citizens here, did they criticise Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, or Nehruji, who was a freedom fighter. The roots of democracy are strong in India even now, due to the vision of these two leaders,” she said.
“Though some people did not like it that Nehru initiated development through use of science and technology, he is still the Jawahar (jewel) who resides in the hearts of crores of people”, she said.
Sonia alleged that the Opposition engaged in false propaganda against the leaders of the party. “Did they stop short of criticising Indiraji? Indiraji sympathised with the poor, backward and the last man standing on the fringes of society and she struggled for their development like none other and these people (Opposition) didn’t like that,” Sonia said.
Sonia claimed that Indira Gandhi struggled to earn India respect in the global order of nations and made every Indian believe that their pride would never get hurt.
This is no ordinary achievement. Even then, some people criticise her, Sonia said.
Indiraji and Rajivji had a feeling for the nation, and they sacrificed their life for the country. But these people never stopped criticising them, so will they stop short of criticising us, Manmohan Singhji, Sheilaji and our government,” Sonia asked.
Sonia asked the people to assess what the Opposition had done for the country or given the country, and compare it with what the Congress had given and done for the country.
The Congress president remarked that the Opposition closed its eyes to developmental works in Delhi, “I am a resident of Delhi, I have witnessed development in the past 15 years and when one can see it, no evidence is necessary”, she said.
Sonia said that the face of Delhi changed after Sheila Dikshit took over as chief minister in 1998.
The Delhi metro service is known all over the world today, public transport has greatly improved, five universities have started functioning, a women’s university has been started.
But some people with their narrow vision are trying to spread poison, Sonia remarked and exhorted people to ask the Opposition if they had an ideology.
“Are good policies framed without a ideology? When one has a ideology, one has a feeling to serve,” Sonia added.
The Congress president said that Opposition could come to power on the basis of false propaganda but not by winning the hearts of the people.