No Cong invite to Modi for Nehru’s 125th birthday
BY Agencies12 Nov 2014 1:21 AM GMT
Agencies12 Nov 2014 1:21 AM GMT
The two-day event to highlight the legacy and worldview of the first Prime Minister is being organised on November 17 and 18 and will be attended by a host of international leaders and representatives of various political parties from India and abroad.
‘We have not given any invitation to the Prime Minister. We have invited all those who truly believe in democracy and the ideals of Nehru,’ Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said replying to a volley of media questions about whether it has invited Modi and why not. Interestingly, the party has put out the eulogising remarks about Nehru made by BJP’s first Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the website specially launched for the event on Tuesday.
‘Have we not acknowledged Atal Bihari Vajpayee. We are acknowledging all those who have said something meaningful. As a political party, we have our freedom to decide who subscribes to Nehru’s views,’ he said. Sources said that Congress will not invite any leader of BJP and its allies for the event.
The party has accused Modi of trying to appropriate leaders of the freedom movement like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Nehru by launching special schemes and diverting attention from their legacy. There is already a National Committee for commemoration of Nehru’s 125th birth anniversary chaired by the Prime Minister, which was reconstituted after the new government came to power. Sharma said the conference will discuss Nehru’s views on democracy, inclusion and empowerment in India and for the representative global order. It will provide a platform to reflect on Nehru’s worldview and legacy in the context of contemporary global challenges.
The event is being organised separately by the Congress even as the government has already indicated that it will organise Nehru’s 125th birth anniversary this year in a mega way to increase awareness about ‘Chacha Nehru’ through a number of initiatives like organising ‘Year of Bal Swachhta’.
‘We have not given any invitation to the Prime Minister. We have invited all those who truly believe in democracy and the ideals of Nehru,’ Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said replying to a volley of media questions about whether it has invited Modi and why not. Interestingly, the party has put out the eulogising remarks about Nehru made by BJP’s first Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the website specially launched for the event on Tuesday.
‘Have we not acknowledged Atal Bihari Vajpayee. We are acknowledging all those who have said something meaningful. As a political party, we have our freedom to decide who subscribes to Nehru’s views,’ he said. Sources said that Congress will not invite any leader of BJP and its allies for the event.
The party has accused Modi of trying to appropriate leaders of the freedom movement like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Nehru by launching special schemes and diverting attention from their legacy. There is already a National Committee for commemoration of Nehru’s 125th birth anniversary chaired by the Prime Minister, which was reconstituted after the new government came to power. Sharma said the conference will discuss Nehru’s views on democracy, inclusion and empowerment in India and for the representative global order. It will provide a platform to reflect on Nehru’s worldview and legacy in the context of contemporary global challenges.
The event is being organised separately by the Congress even as the government has already indicated that it will organise Nehru’s 125th birth anniversary this year in a mega way to increase awareness about ‘Chacha Nehru’ through a number of initiatives like organising ‘Year of Bal Swachhta’.
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