The notification for the Congress’ 85th plenary was issued without the image of eminent freedom-fighter and educationist Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, drawing flak from various circles across the nation. Ghulam Nabi Azad, who had recently quit the Congress to float his own party in J and K, alleged that the Congress had been emulating the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Recently Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad during the latter’s birth anniversary, extolling him as “a man of new ideas and the person who worked sincerely for development of educational institutions and for achieving fraternity in society”. On several previous occasions, Modi had recalled the valuable contribution of Acharya JB Kripalani and Abul Kalam Azad in nation-building. The Modi government annually announces awards for sportspersons on November 11th, Abul Kalam’s birth anniversary, which is celebrated as National Education Day.
The BJP opposes the minority-appeasement policy of the Congress but has high regard for leaders of the stature of Abul Kalam Azad. As part of the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav, the BJP has paid tributes to forgotten heroes like Ghulam Rasool Nazki of J and K, Sayyed Fida Hussain of Bihar, and Moulvi Azmat Ullah of Delhi. Modi has called upon officials to ensure that the benefits of welfare schemes reach Pasmanda Muslims, who are among the most backward people in society.
Surprisingly, the images of leaders who had been insulted by the Congress appeared on plenary wall posters and Congress advertisements. In Congress, because of the family rule, Nehru-Gandhi family members get precedence over those who had worked for building the party and those who had contributed for protecting the interests of the nation. The Congress plenary highlighted sycophancy indulged in by Congress leaders praising Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
Printing images of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi by the side of images of eminent freedom-fighters like Subhash Chandra Bose and Sarojini Naidu, giving credit to Sonia Gandhi for all achievements during the UPA government, including nuclear deal with the USA, making special video footage on Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and carpeting a distance of about two km on Priyanka Gandhi’s route to Raipur airport with rose petals stand as examples of the height of sycophancy and the typical Congress culture.
The election results achieved during the regimes of PV Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesari could not be achieved by Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka during the past 10 years. Amidst the sycophancy, there was none to pay attention to Dalit leader like Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Congress never respected Babasaheb Ambedkar. He had to get elected to the Constituency Assembly from Bengal with support from the Muslim League. Thanks to Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and Dr Rajendra Prasad, Ambedkar became the chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee. The Congress got him defeated in the first-ever elections held in 1952 when Ambedkar contested from North Bombay LS seat. Nehru paid special attention to defeating Ambedkar in the by-polls held in 1954. Nehru inducted Ambedkar into his Cabinet bowing to pressure from Mahatma Gandhi and appointed him Law Minister. However, Ambedkar rued that Nehru did not give him a suitable position in the Cabinet Committee. Ambedkar had opposed special status to J and K under Article 370. Ambedkar, who had differed with Nehru seriously on issues like Hindu Code Bill, J and K problem, economic and foreign policies, chose to quit the Cabinet.
It was the non-Congress government that honoured Ambedkar with the highest civilian award — Bharat Ratna in 1990. It was atrocious to note that Indira Gandhi received the award in 1971, much ahead of eminent leaders like Ambedkar and Sardar Patel. The dubious distinction of announcing Bharat Ratna to Rajiv Gandhi in 1988 goes to the Congress.
Modi appreciates the social revolution brought about by Ambedkar. The Modi government has developed several memorials at various places, including Deeksha Bhoomi in Nagpur, and declared the house in which Ambedkar resided in London as a Memorial. The Congress did not treat properly even leaders like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel, and PV Narasimha Rao, among others.
Anita Bose, daughter of Netaji, has gone on record that successive Congress regimes had ignored the role played by Netaji during the freedom struggle. She lauded celebration of 125th birth anniversary of Netaji on a grand scale and the installation of his statue at India Gate. Modi got a 597-foot-tall statue of Sardar Patel, called the Statue of Unity, installed at Kevadia. PV Narasimha Rao –a PM not from the Gandhi-Nehru family — ensured that Sardar Patel received Bharat Ratna in 1991.Upon PV’s death, his body was not allowed to be placed lying in state at the Congress headquarters in Delhi. During the Modi regime, the PV Memorial was built in the nation’s capital. In Teen Murti Bhavan at Delhi, in PMs’ museum, several important decisions made by PV during his regime as PM were showcased.
The Congress has been faking its love for Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, and PV Narasimha Rao by displaying their images on the dais. People will not hesitate to bury the Congress and other tiny parties that have taken birth from it in the sands of time.
