'Master distorian' active in Nehru bashing to divert attention from serious issues: Cong slams PM
New Delhi(PTI): Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his veiled criticism of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress said on Tuesday that even on the first prime minister's death anniversary, the "master distorian" is active in "Nehru-bashing" and attempting to divert attention from serious issues that confront the country.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also asked why is the prime minister silent on US President Donald Trump's statements -- made eight times in 11 days -- on the "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan that forced Operation Sindoor to stop.
"Even on Nehru's death anniversary the nation's supreme (mis) leader and master distorian is active in Nehru-bashing. This is a pathetic attempt at diverting attention from very many serious issues that confront us today, which he must answer," Ramesh said in a post on X.
Why are the terrorists responsible for the brutal Pahalgam terror attack still moving around somewhere -- more so since they were reportedly involved in terror attacks in Poonch (December 2023), Gagangir (October 2024) and Gulmarg (October 2024), he asked.
"Why is the PM silent on the US President's statements -- 8 in 11 days -- on the ceasefire between India and Pakistan that forced Operation Sindoor to stop?" he asked.
"Why is the PM quiet on the deep military nexus between China and Pakistan, that has now become more apparent than ever before -- the very same China to whom he had given a clean chit on June 19, 2020 publicly and with whom India has continued to have rising a trade deficit?" the Congress leader asked further.
He also questioned Modi's silence on the "growing hyphenation" of India with Pakistan and the failure of New Delhi's diplomacy and narrative to isolate the neighbouring country.
Ramesh's remarks came after Modi, speaking in Gandhinagar, took a veiled dig at Nehru.
"In 1947, when Maa Bharti was partitioned, 'katni chahiye thi zanjeerein par kaat di gayi bhujayein (chains should have been cut but instead, hands were severed)'. The country was divided into three parts. On that very night, the first terrorist attack took place in Kashmir," Modi said.
"A part of Maa Bharti was captured by Pakistan using terrorists in the name of Mujahideen. If on that day, these Mujahideen were killed, and Sardar Patel's wish was that until we get back PoK, our armed forces should not stop. But no one listened to him and now, we have been facing this (terrorism) for the last 75 years. Pahalgam was also a perverse form of it," the prime minister said.
In an earlier post on X, Ramesh paid tributes to Nehru on his death anniversary and accused the BJP-led government of attempting to diminish his legacy.
"Today is the 61st death anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, who simply refuses to go away in spite of a systematic 6D effort being made -- since 2014 especially -- to defame, distort, deny, denigrate, diminish, and demolish him and his legacy," he said.
Nehru's contributions to the making of a modern India are most fundamental and profound, the Congress leader added.
"He remains a source of great inspiration to all those committed to the idea of an India anchored in the finest of its own composite heritage, an open, liberal and secular democracy with its Constitutional goals of social, economic and political justice, modern science and technology with a scientific temper at its roots and an India that stands exclusive globally by being uncompromisingly inclusive at home," Ramesh said.
"For Nehru, democracy and yet more democracy was the oxygen which gave meaning to our lives, not demagoguery. He was authoritative without being authoritarian. He was not just an outstanding public figure who read, wrote, and shaped history decisively -- perhaps more importantly, a good, decent, large-hearted, reflective, and noble human being with no insecurities whatsoever which he would have to overcome with bluffs, brags, and bombasts as we are seeing daily since May 26, 2014," Ramesh said.
For Nehru, India was one and many at the same time, he added.
Nehru's entire life was devoted to deepening that oneness, while at the same time, celebrating the many diversities that define India, the Congress leader said.
"To reclaim the idea of India that is now under so much assault, we have to reclaim the ideas of Nehru himself," he added.
"Nehru wrote his will and testament ten years before he passed away. It is written in 'sparkling prose' that is so very poetic," Ramesh said.
Nehru is India's longest-serving prime minister, who was at the helm since the country's independence in August 1947 till his death on May 27, 1964.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
