Nehru’s PM Tenure Involved Lot of Nation Building: Congress

 New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he became India’s longest continuously serving elected prime minister, accusing him of undermining democratic institutions and trying to erase the legacy of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

The Opposition party said the milestone being celebrated by the BJP was “self-proclaimed” and argued that Modi’s tenure stood in sharp contrast to Nehru’s contribution to nation-building after Independence.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said Nehru, who assumed office on August 15, 1947, led a distinguished Cabinet and laid the foundations of modern India. He cited achievements between 1947 and 1952, including the integration of more than 560 princely states into the Indian Union, the framing and adoption of the Constitution, abolition of the zamindari system, implementation of reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and the launch of major irrigation and power projects.

Ramesh also credited the Nehru government with laying the groundwork for India’s scientific and technological capabilities, including in nuclear energy, and establishing the country’s presence on the global stage. He said electoral rolls covering around 170 million voters were prepared to facilitate universal adult franchise ahead of India’s first general elections, held between October 1951 and February 1952.

“The record of achievements during 1947-52, in which leaders such as Sardar Patel, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Dr Rajendra Prasad, C. Rajagopalachari and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad played pivotal roles, is now sought to be erased by Modi, who has a pathological fixation on Nehru,” Ramesh alleged.

Taking a swipe at the Prime Minister’s record, Ramesh said Modi may have crossed a milestone in office but had become “a millstone around India’s neck”. He alleged that democratic institutions had weakened during Modi’s tenure, claiming that institutions such as the Election Commission and the integrity of voter lists were under threat, while scientific temper had suffered due to the deterioration of educational institutions.

Ramesh further alleged that reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes had been weakened through privatisation and administrative practices such as declaring candidates “not found suitable”. He also said that while Nehru secured decisive electoral mandates in 1952, 1957 and 1962, Modi failed to secure a simple majority for the BJP on its own in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and had to rely on NDA allies to form the government.

Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah also criticised the BJP’s celebration of the milestone, linking it to the rejection of Congress candidate Meenakshi Natarajan’s nomination in the Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh. He alleged that the move was politically motivated and part of a broader attempt to manipulate the electoral process.

Modi on Wednesday surpassed Nehru’s record of 4,399 days in office as an elected prime minister. While Nehru served as prime minister from 1947, his tenure as an elected leader is counted from the first general elections in 1952. Modi first assumed office on May 26, 2014, returned with a larger mandate in 2019 and began his third consecutive term on June 9, 2024.