"Shameful": Priyanka Gandhi slams PM Modi for "misrepresenting" Jawaharlal Nehru's speech

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra Tuesday strongly criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what she described as misrepresenting statements made by Jawaharlal Nehru during a recent speech in the Lok SabhaGandhi said Modis comments not only mischaracterized Nehrus views but also displayed a sense of bitterness towards Indias freedom movement and historical struggles for nationbuilding and termed it ldquoshamefulrdquoDuring the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Presidents address Modi made several pointed remarks about Nehru suggesting that the former prime minister viewed Indians as lazy and of low intelligence Modis remarks which lasted nearly 100 minutes included sharp attacks on the Congress party and the Gandhi family alleging that they lacked faith in Indias potentialHitting back at Modi Priyanka Gandhi said Did Pandit Nehru the guardian of Indias consciousness consider Indians lazy Yesterday in the temple of democracy Parliament Prime Minister Modi made this very allegation against Pandit Nehru Is there any truth in thisBefore thinking anything read and listen to that speech of Nehru she said and shared the audio recording of the speech and the Hindi quote from it newswire PTI reportedOur people forgetting to trust themselves think that and other people will help them Our village people are strong and nice It has become a habit that instead of taking matters in their own hands they lean on officers and the government Communities dont progress with the help of officers they progress on their own strengthThe only yardstick to measure progress is how 40 crore people of India move forward The community grows through its hard work Nehru is heard saying in the audio recordingLook at the countries that are happy and prosperous how did they become prosperous through hardwork Be it European nations or American or Asian countries that our prosperous it is hard work and unity behind their prosperity Without these attributes progress cannot be madeIn our India generally the habit of working very hard has not been developed It is not our fault habits are formed due to circumstances Nehru had saidBut the thing is that we do not work as hard as Europeans Japanese Chinese Russians or Americans Dont think that they became prosperous through magic but they became prosperous through hard work and intelligence We can also move forward with hardwork and intelligence there is no other way Indias first prime minister saidIn her post Priyanka Gandhi said after independence crores of people faced the challenge of filling their empty stomachs and the slavery plunder and exploitation of the British had hollowed out the countryThere were millions of deaths due to famine and starvation If the Prime Minister of such a country tells his people that they have to stand on our own feet work hard and compete with the developed countries Is that a crime If the Prime Minister of a newly independent country inspires its people to become selfreliant is it an insult to the people she saidNot only is it shameful to misrepresent a few lines from the speech of the countrys first Prime Minister it also shows how much bitterness is filled in the minds of Prime Minister Modi ji the BJP and the RSS towards our freedom movement and historical struggles for nation building the Congress general secretary saidIt is not just that they will distort any one line or statement or programme or decision and we will clarify it she saidThe thing is that when Modi ji who is at the helm of power and the countrys media does such things does it suit him and the dignity of his position Or is it unreasonable to expect this from him Priyanka Gandhi saidIn his remarks in the Lok Sabha on Monday Modi had said the Congress got stuck in one family and they could never see and would never be able to see peoples aspirations and achievementsQuoting an Independence Day speech by Nehru from the ramparts of the Red Fort Modi said Nehru had said we do not work as hard the Europeans Japanese Chinese Russians or the Americans Do not think that these communities became prosperous by some magic They have achieved this by hardwork and smartnessHe Nehru is giving a certificate to those people to belittle Indians This shows that Nehru jis thinking about Indians was that they are lazy and of low intelligence He did not trust their potential the prime minister had saidFormer prime minister Indira Gandhi did not think differently either Modi had said With inputs from PTI