Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hit back at Home Minister Amit Shah for his attack on India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, saying the BJP leader probably does not know history and “keeps rewriting” it.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said, “Pandit Nehru gave his life for India, he was in jail for years. Amit Shah is unaware of history. I cannot expect him to know history, he has the habit of rewriting it…”
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Amit Shah had blamed Nehru for the Kashmir problem, pointing to the “mistakes” of ordering an “untimely” ceasefire and taking the issue to the United Nations.
Asked about Shah’s remarks, Gandhi said, “Pandit Nehru dedicated his life for this country. He was in jail for years, Amit Shah ji probably does not know history. I don’t expect that he would know history as he keeps rewriting history.”
“This is all about distraction, basic issue is of caste census and participation, in whose hands is the money of the country going. They (BJP) don’t want to discuss this issue, they are afraid of it and run away from it,” the former Congress president told reporters outside Parliament.
He said the Congress will take forward this issue and ensure that poor people get their rights.
Asked about the BJP making tribal and OBC CMs in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi said, “Ours was also an OBC (CM in Chhattisgarh), they have also made OBC (CM in Madhya Pradesh), that is not the issue. The question is what is the participation (of OBCs) within the structure.”
Amit Shah on Tuesday attacked the opposition, saying it is unable to see the change on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir after the scrapping of Article 370 and claimed the entire country has understood that it was Nehru’s “mistakes” on Kashmir that led to the suffering of people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Shah was speaking in the Rajya Sabha during a discussion on the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
“Jahan tak tang nazariye ka sawaal hai, desh ki ek bhi inch zameen ka sawaal hai, humara nazariya tang rahega, hum dil bada nahi kar sakte. No one has the right to give away a section of our land to show off their big heart,” Shah said.
Shah also gave a reference to Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and said that it was due to Sardar Patel’s intervention that the Indian Army was sent when Kashmir was being invaded by the Pakistanis.
“I want to give a reference to Sam Manekshaw. He said at one place that when the Pakistanis were attacking Kashmir, then he was busy in discussions (don’t want to name the person). Sam Manekshaw was present at a meeting in which Sardar Patel told Nehru, “Do you want Kashmir or not?” Then the decision to send the army was taken. If there was no ceasefire at an appropriate time, PoK would not have been there. Why was the matter taken to the UN?” Shah said.
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Published: 12 Dec 2023, 02:52 PM IST