New Delhi: BJP’s Sudhanshu Trivedi put PM Narendra Modi on a higher pedestal than Jawaharlal Nehru, saying that the India’s first prime minister rose to power without struggle in contrast to the humble beginnings of the present premier
Initiating debate on Motion of Thanks on president address in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Trivedi claimed Nehru had become the PM with “zero vote” whereas Modi had returned to power with people’s mandate.
Nehru awarded the Bharat Ratna to himself, the BJP national spokesperson claimed. In contrast, he said, that Modi had ensured the award to Congress veterans Pranab Mukherjee and P. V. Narasimha Rao.
“Nehru awarded the Bharat Ratna to himself, leaving Sardar Patel and Ambedkar,” he claimed. “PM Modi not only awarded Atal Bihari Vajpyee and L.K. Advani with Bharat Ratna, but also awarded it to Madan Mohan Malviya, Pranab Mukherjee, Narasimha Rao and Karpoori Thakur. He even awarded Padma Vibhushan to Congress leaders S.C. Jamir and Tarun Gogoi. So, Modi can’t be comparable with Nehru who only awarded himself with the Bharat Ratna.”
He recalled that poet Majrooh Sultanpuri had remained in jail for two years after he wrote that there was a glimpse of Hitler in the working style of Nehru.
Trivedi claimed that when the BJP parliamentary board was going to meet to decide Modi’s elevation as the PM on 13 September 2013, the latter refused to attend the event saying that his name was being discussed for the top post.
In 1946, Trivedi claimed that Pattabhi Ramaiah got one vote when it came to the election of the new Congress president. “Maybe Archaya Kripalani got one or two votes and all the rest votes went to Vallabhbhai Patel. How can there be any comparison?” the BJP MP said in his speech in Hindi.
Even Mallikarjun Kharge is better than Nehru as he got votes and was elected as the Congress president, he asserted.
“Leave aside the people who say things like Hitler’s death, wish for Modi’s death, that grave will be dug during Modiji’s time, those… Those who had talked about ‘boti-boti’ also came to the next house as respected members. If no action is being taken after this then I believe that there is no comparison… (sic),” Trivedi contended.
Asserting that the Modi government got the mandate for the third time, Trivedi said the Congress is “happy like a child who gets third division and passes through grace marks”.
“The Congress could not get even 240 seats in the last 40 years. Narasimha Rao got 232 seats, and no other leader of Congress got seats what the BJP got in its third term,” he asserted.
Comparing the Modi government’s record to save the Constitution and development, Trivedi attacked the opposition by comparing how many times the Constitution was changed during the Congress era.
In this context, he referred to Congress president Dev Kant Barooah declaring at the height of the Emergency in 1976 that “India is Indira, and Indira is India”.
Trivedi also gave the examples of how socialist labour leader George Fernandes was paraded in handcuffs in the Emergency era and how Sharia law was given priority over the Constitution in the Shah Bano case.
Later, Trivedi attacked the Congress party for creating chaos over the arrest of two leaders in corruption cases. In this context, he highlighted the arrest of DMK leader A. Raja during the UPA rule with the arrest of other leaders during their regime.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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I don’t think we, the people, voted these people to discuss history or for doing something for the benefit of the people. There is no need to do debate on history which cannot be changed. We should live today and plan for tomorrow.