Over 600 government schemes have been named after Gandhi and Nehru and yet those from the “generation” of Jawaharlal Nehru are afraid to use Nehru as their surname, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. He was referring to a news report, claiming that he didn’t verify it, while pointing out how the Congress used to get agitated when any government scheme was not named after the first Prime Minister.
“If Nehru’s name was not mentioned in a programme for any reason, the Congress used to get agitated. However, I wonder why those from the Nehru’s generation is afraid to keep his surname? What are they ashamed of?” he asked while responding to the debate around the Motion of Thanks in Rajya Sabha.
Also read: ‘That name is Mrs Indira Gandhi’: Modi hits out at harassment charge by states
PM Modi further said that India is not an estate of a particular family and that this country is made with the efforts of its common people and generational traditions. He also pointed out the allegations of harassment charges by states and said that he understand the meaning of federalism and his government has emphasised on “cooperative-competitive federalism”.
“Not just this, one prime minister used ‘Article 356’ 50 times, hitting a half-century. That name is Mrs Indira Gandhi,” he added.
He also alleged that the Congress was involved in tokenism when citizens were reeling under several issues. “Their priorities and intentions were different and therefore they never found a permanent solution to any problem,” he added.
