Kharge takes a dig at Nirmala Sitharaman over Nehru attack: 'Studied in JNU'
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday took a swipe at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Rajya Sabha, criticising her attack on former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during a Constitution debate. Highlighting Sitharaman’s academic background, Kharge remarked that she herself was a graduate of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
“I studied at a municipality school, while she studied at JNU. Her English and Hindi might be excellent, but her deeds are not good,” Kharge quipped.
Kharge’s response to Sitharaman came after the Finance Minister blamed Nehru for curbing freedom of speech in 1951 through a Constitutional amendment.
Kharge also accused the BJP of disrespecting the Gandhi family and questioned the party's commitment to constitutional values. "Those who once hated the tricolour, Ashok Chakra, and the Constitution are now giving lessons on it," he said.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had criticised former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, accusing him of suppressing freedom of speech. During a debate on the Constitution, Sitharaman highlighted the arrests of poet and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri and actor Balraj Sahni, along with the banning of books, to target the Congress and its legacy.
Sitharaman alleged that the first Constitutional amendment in 1951, introduced under Nehru’s leadership, was aimed at curbing free speech. “Majrooh Sultanpuri and Balraj Sahni were jailed in 1949. Sultanpuri recited a poem critical of Nehru at a mill workers' meeting and was imprisoned after refusing to apologise,” she stated.
Continuing her attack on the Gandhi family, the BJP leader accused the Congress of amending the Constitution to serve the interests of “one family.” Her remarks followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sharp criticism of the Congress in the Lok Sabha last week.
Kharge hits out at BJP
"Those people who hate the national flag, those who hate our 'Ashok Chakra', those who hate the Constitution... such people are trying to teach us. When the Constitution was made, these people burned it. They torched effigies of Babasaheb Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi at Ramleela Maidan (in Delhi) the day the Constitution was adopted," Kharge said.
Kharge added that the BJP and RSS opposed the Constitution of India because it was "not based on the Manusmriti."
“The RSS opposed the Constitution because it was not based on the Manusmriti. They neither accepted the Constitution nor the tricolour. It was only on January 26, 2002, that the tricolour was hoisted at the RSS headquarters for the first time, and that too under compulsion,” Kharge claimed.
'PM Modi number one liar'
Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi the "number one liar," Congress president Kharge accused him of misleading the country with unfulfilled promises. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Kharge said, “It was said that Rs 15 lakh would come, but nothing came. These people are deceiving the people by lying. The Prime Minister should have explained what he has done in the last 11 years to strengthen the Constitution.”
On the occasion of Vijay Diwas, commemorating India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war and the liberation of Bangladesh, Kharge urged the BJP to draw inspiration from former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. “Today is Bangladesh Liberation Day. Indira Gandhi, the Iron Lady, saved our nation. Perhaps BJP leaders can take motivation from her to help minorities in Bangladesh,” he said, referring to the plight of Hindus amid ongoing unrest in the neighbouring country.