Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday targeted the Congress for adopting a “spineless attitude” while dealing with issues related to the country’s sovereignty, and said that while Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel wanted “all of Kashmir” to be united with India, Jawaharlal Nehru “did not let his wish be fulfilled”.
The Prime Minister was speaking at the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) celebrations at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat’s Narmada district. On the occasion of Sardar Patel’s 150th birth anniversary, Modi paid floral tribute at the Statue of Unity and presided over the Ekta Diwas Parade.
Addressing the gathering, Modi said, “Many among today’s youth may not be aware that Sardar Saheb wanted the accession of all of Kashmir in the same way that he merged other princely states (with India). But Nehruji did not let his wish be fulfilled. Kashmir was divided with a separate constitution and a separate seal. The country burned in the fire of this mistake committed by the Congress for decades.”
Modi also accused the Congress of promoting “political untouchability”, saying, “In democracy, national unity means that we respect the diversity of thought… But look at the irony that the people who were given responsibility (to run the country) by the citizens after Independence, attempted to kill the spirit of ‘We The People’… They showed disdain for all those people and organisations that were different from their ideology. They attempted to discredit everyone else… and promoted the culture of political untouchability.” Specifically mentioning the RSS, he said that within the Congress, “Outside one party and one family, every person and every thought was treated as untouchable…”
The BJP-led NDA government ended “political untouchability”, he claimed, and mentioned several initiatives. “We created the Statue of Unity, turned Babasaheb Ambedkar’s house in Delhi into a memorial, which was a place of neglect under Congress… Under the Congress, there was a museum only for one Prime Minister. We have risen above political untouchability and created a PM Museum dedicated to the works of all Prime Ministers. We bestowed the Bharat Ratna on Karpuri Thakur and Pranab (Mukherjee) da, who remained loyal to the Congress all his life. Even a leader with opposing views, like Mulayam Singh Yadav, has also been bestowed with Padma awards… The delegations that went abroad after Operation Sindoor also reflected this unity,” the PM said.
He said that in the last 11 years of his government, the biggest national security success was “breaking the back of Naxals and Naxalism”. Before the NDA government came to power in 2014, he said, “the Indian Constitution was not recognised in Naxal-hit areas”, but now, “our government launched a massive attack on Naxalism”. He also mentioned dealing with “Urban Naxals” and claimed to have won the “ideological battle”. “Today, the result is in front of you,” he said.
Speaking about Operation Sindoor, Modi also accused Congress of having a “spineless attitude” in dealing with issues challenging the sovereignty of India. “After [Sardar Patel’s] death, the governments of that time, instead of acting on the principles of Sardar Patel, chose to adopt a spineless attitude. The country suffered the consequences in the form of violence and bloodshed… Today, Pakistan and the masterminds of terror have also come to know the real strength of India. The whole world saw during Operation Sindoor that if anyone raises an eye on India, India will enter their homes and annihilate them… This is a message for India’s enemies that this is the India of the Iron Man Sardar Patel that does not compromise on security and self-respect.”
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The Prime Minister emphasised the need to respect different languages across the country, and said that one of the cornerstones of unity in India has been “not enforcing one language on the people”.
“We consider every language a national language. We say with pride that we have the oldest language, Tamil, and Sanskrit for scriptures… We are promoting every language of the country, and we want the children of the country to study in their own mother tongue.”
