PM omits Nehru, Sonia takes dig at RSS in Quit India debate in LS

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Na rendra Mo di gave a clarion call on Wednesday to rid the country of corruption, poverty and illiteracy and create a new India by 2022, even as Congress chief Sonia Gandhi expressed concern over attempts by “forces of darkness” to destroy the roots of democracy.

They were speaking at a special discussion in the Lok Sabha on the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement, a defining event of India’ s freedom struggle. “In 1942,( Mahatma) Gandhi gave a clarion call Karenge Ya Marenge (Do or Die). Today it is Karen ge A ur K ar K eR a hen ge( we will do and surely do). The next five years should also be about Sankalp Se Siddhi (pledge to achieve), a resolve which will lead us to accomplishment,” Modi said. He did not mention first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in his speech of about 30 minutes, but remembered leaders such as the Mahatma, S ar dar Val labhbhai Pa tel, Sub has Chandra Bose, La lB a had ur Shastri, Jai Pr aka sh Nara yan,R am Manoh ar Lohia and Chandra Shekhar Azad.

For her part, Congress chief Gandhi made a veiled attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideologi- cal mentor, without naming the organisation .“We should not forget that there were people and organisations that had opposed the Quit India Movement and they played no role in the freedom struggle,” she said. She recalled the contributions of Nehru and the Congress in the historic event of August 9, 1942.

At this point, B JP member Ki rr on K her shouted“travesty, travesty” but was signal led to remain quiet by the treasury benches as the Prime Minister keenly listened to Gandhi’s speech.

The BJP steers clear of mentioning Nehru’s contributions to the country, while the Congress often accuses the RSS of doing lit- tle for India’s independence, a charge denied by the organisation. The PM said from 2017 to 2022, when India turns 75, there is a need to create same spirit that existed between 1942 and 1947.

He lamented that corruption has adversely affected the country’s growth and eaten the polity from inside. Mo di implored parliamentarians to rise above differences and join a common effort in the next five years to create an India that the freedom fighters had dreamt of. He said the way political parties and state governments had extended support to GST bill, a similar approach was needed to resolve the country’s problems.